Tales of the Shikigami User
by Mage of Hope
Summary: Takes place in the anime after Episode 68 soon. A bit of the Secret of the Cursed Mask and Divine Jewel combined together. Akiha Kururugi is a young, timid,13-year old who discovered she has powerful Shikigami powers in the Feudal Era. Joining Inuyasha's group, can she help defeat Naraku and find love as well? Shippo x OC x Kohaku. Characters may be a little OOC.
1. Chapter 1

**Hope: Hey, everyone! This is my first Inuyasha story ever! Sure I may not have seen all of the episodes or even the Fin Act ones, but I'm working on it.**

**Inuyasha: Yeah, you better!**

**Miroku: Will you care to bear my child?**

**Hope: *deadpann* No.**

**Shippo: Whoa! That's the first time Miroku been rejected like that!**

**Miroku: *sulks in a corner***

**Hope: Anyways, Inuyasha! Do the disclaimer!**

**Inuyasha: Why do I have to do it?**

**Hope: Kagome!**

**Kagome: Sit, boy!**

**Inuyasha: *on the ground* ...Mage of Hope doesn't own Inuyasha...Ow... **

* * *

"Class, we have a new student today," introduced Kagome's teacher, named Mr. Takeshi. "Please welcome Akiha Kururugi. Please, treat her well. Kururugi, you can come in now."

The classroom door opened, and it showed a petite, young girl that looked like 10 years old entering the classroom. She had black neck-length hair,dark brown eyes and she wore the school uniform, only in a small size. "N-nice to meet all of you," said Akiha, shyly as she looked down at her shoes to hide her embarrassment. "My name is A-Akiha Kururugi, I-I hope to make friends with you."

After Akiha made her introduction, everyone in the classroom was surprised to see a young girl in their room and started whispering to each other, making Akiha all nervous and all.

"What's a kid doing here?"

"She's so cute!~"

"What's this school thinking, sending a young girl to such a difficult school like this?"

"But if she was sent here, she must be super smart!"

"She's absolutely adorable!~"

While everyone else was admiring Akiha, Kagome didn't say anything, but was still staring at Akiha, who looked all flustered and shy. _'Huh, it's strange how the school could accept someone of her age to come here,' _thought Kagome.

"Alright, alright," announced Mr. Takeshi. "Kururugi, there's a seat behind Higurashi. Please sit there. Higurashi, please raise your hand."

"Here!" called Kagome, raising her hand. Akiha walked towards where she was and sat behind her. Afterwards, class began.

**RING! RING! **After the bell rang for lunchtime, Kagome turned around to see Akiha getting out a bento box. "Hey, how are you?' asked Kagome. "My name's Kagome. Kagome Higurashi."

"Ah, nice to meet you, Higurashi-san," welcomed Akiha, bowing her head a little. "My name's Akiha Kururugi, but you can call me Akiha."

"I really don't like formalities, so you can call me Kagome, alright?" assured Kagome.

"Kagome!" called an unfamiliar voice. Both girls turned to see Eri, Ayumi, and Yuta coming their way.

"Hello, Akiha-chan! How are you?" asked Yuta.

"I'm fine. Um...who are you?"

"I'm Yuta!" introduced Yuta, taking Akiha's hand and shaking it. "Nice to meet you!"

"And I'm Eri! I hope we can be friends!"

"Oh! I'm Ayumi!"

"Akiha, these are my best friends," introduced Kagome. "Would you like to eat lunch with us? I know a special place."

"O-okay," agreed Akiha. Soon, the five girls arrived outside, where some other sutdents gathered. They sat down near a tree, where they ate their lunch in the shade while looking up to see the clear blue sky.

"So Akiha, has any boys interest you?" teased Eri.

"E-eh?! No, of course not! I just got here!" assured Akiha, turning red a little.

"Okay, by the way, how old are you? You seem to be too young to be attending this school," asked Yuta.

"I'm 13 years old," answered Akiha.

"Hey, are you interested in the choir club? I'm the leader there, and I can get you signed up if you want," offered Ayumi.

"I'll think about it," replied Akiha. "But thank you for asking."

So, for the rest of the lunch time, the girls talked about themselves, like their current families. After school was over, Akiha offered, "Would you like to visit the Kururugi Shrine? That's where me and my grandma are staying."

"Sure! We'd love to!" agreed Eri.

"Sorry, but I'm busy. I uh...have to go back home!" called Kagome, running back to her home.

"Poor girl, it must be one of her sicknesses again," sighed Eri, shaking her head.

"Sickness?" asked Akiha, confused.

"Oh, you don't know. Let me explain," started Ayumi. "You see, a few months ago, Kagome started skipping school due to different kinds of illnesses. Whenever she got better, a new sickness kicks in! Strange, huh? So, she's rarely here."

"Oh...I feel bad for her," admitted Akiha.

"Don't worry, though! You see, a guy named Hojo, who likes Kagome, always gives her gifts to make her feel better!" explained Yuta. "I just wish that Kagome would just see that he likes her already!"

"I guess that can't be helped," said Akiha. "Come on, let's go."

Once arriving at the Kururugi Shrine, Eri, Ayumi, and Yuta were astonished by the beauty and how large the shrine was. A elegant red Tori Gate was placed in the entrance as the girls went through it. Lots of stone statues had carvings on them, and some represented animals like the dragon, lion, fish, or animals like that. There were a few storage houses,but the largest one of them was the one in the center, which happened to be Akiha's house.

"Whoa! How amazing!" exclaimed Ayumi.

"I don't mean to brag, but this shrine has been in our family for generations," explained Akiha.

"Your shrine may be even bigger than Kagome's!" commented Eri.

"What do you mean?"

"Kagome's family lives in the Higurashi Shrine, and her family owns there," told Yuta.

"Oh, I'd like to see her shrine sometime," said Akiha. She turned to the house and called, "Grandma! I'm home! I brought company as well!"

The door opened, and it revealed an old woman. "Ah, Akiha! I see you have new friends now! How nice!"

"Hello, miss? I'm Ayumi," introduced Ayumi kindly. "These are my friends, Eri and Yuta."

"Ah, I see! Come in! I'll make some tea."

Once inside, and after being served tea, Akiha told her grandma, "Grandma, guess what? My other friend, Kagome, has a shrine too. She lives in the Higurashi Shrine."

"Oh, the Higurashi Shrine! I know that," told Akiha's grandma. She seemed upset and a bit mad.

"Um...how do you know?" asked Yuta.

"Because there's an old man there whom I've known for a very long time! Why, we're rivals, even now!" scolded Akiha's grandma, harshly. "That old geezer never gives up, geez!"

"Looks like your grandma has some sort of rivalry with Kagome's grandpa, Akiha," laughed Ayumi nervously.

Akiha also laughed nervously. "Yeah."

* * *

_About a few weeks later... _

"Hmph, you've been going back to your own world a lot lately," told Inuyasha harshly as he and Kagome were going back to the Bone-Eater's Well. "Have you forgotten we're supposed to be looking for the Shikon Jewel Shards?"

"Ugh, would you knock it off already?" questioned Kagome, annoyed by Inuyasha's complaining. "I get it, okay? How many times do I have to say it? Besides, why don't you get that, to me, school is important, too?"

While the two were arguing, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo tagged along and sighed at the two bickering once again. "They're at it again," sighed Sango.

"They're like this every day," agreed Shippo

When they finally arrived at the Bone-Eater's Well, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "Oh yeah! I made a new friend a few weeks ago! A transfer student to be exact."

That caught Inuyasha's attention. "So Kagome, is this 'friend' the reason why you keep going back and forth?"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Kagome, confused. "Wait a minute...could it be that you're jealous?"

"N-no way! Don't flatter yourself!" sputtered Inuyasha, crossing his arms in denial. "It's just, without you, we can't continue our journey! After all, you're the only one who can find the Shikon Jewel Shards!"

"Sure Inuyasha, whatever you say," said Kagome, slyly.

As Kagome turned to climb into the Bone-Eater's Well, Inuyasha shouted, "Hey! Are you listening to a word I'm saying?!"

"Apparently not," said Miroku clamly, as if nothing happened.

"Oh shut up, Miroku! I didn't ask you!"

"I'll be back in three days," announced Kagome, about to jump. "Oh, and I'll tell you one more thing. My new friend's a girl. See you later!"

With that said, Kagome jumped into the portal from the Feudal Era to her own.

"...Oh. A girl," was all Inuyasha had to say.

"Wow, Inuyasha! You were really jealous of a boy which was actually a girl!" teased Shippo, giggling. That received him several bumps in the head.

* * *

_A few days later... _

"So, how do you like it here, Akiha?" asked Kagome, once school was over. "You've been here for nearly three weeks already."

"Oh, I like it here, especially Yuta, Ayumi, and Eri," answered Akiha.

"Kagome!" shouted a familiar voice. Both girls turned to see someone with long silvery hair wearing a red kimono and a blue cap coming their way.

"W-what are you doing here, Inuyasha?!" exclaimed Kagome, rushing towards him.

"What are you talking about? I came to get you," reminded Inuyasha.

"...You were bored again, weren't you?"

"Eh, whatever. Not that it matters-huh?"

"What's wrong?" asked Kagome, concerned.

"Something smells."

"What?! How rude can you be?!"

"No, not you, Kagome," assured Inuyasha. He walked past her and started sniffing the air, making Akiha wonder who this guy is and how he knows Kagome. Soon, he arrived in front of Akiha and sniffed her. "Hey, you."

"Y-yes?"

"Why do you smell so weird?" asked Inuyasha, shocking both the girls.

"W-what?"

"I mean, you are human, I can tell. But your scent-"

"Inuyasha! Sit boy!"

Immediantly, Inuyasha fell to the ground with a large crash, making a small crater in the ground and shocking Akiha even more. "Ow! What was that for?!" shouted Inuyasha turning to Kagome angrily.

"Sorry, Akiha! I'll catch you later!" apologized Kagome. She turned to Inuyasha. "Let's go!" She grabbed ahold of Inuyasha's ear, and started walking out of the classroom, and sounds of Inuyasha yelping in pain were heard, even when they were outside.

"Um...what was that?" questioned Akiha, confused.

* * *

_3 days later... _

Akiha was beginning to worry about Kagome. She's rumored to have been sick again, thus missing out three days of school. Akiha decided to go visit the Higurashi Shrine alone because Yuta, Ayumi, and Eri were busy. Besides, she could always tell her grandma the reason why she was a bit late.

After a few minutes of getting directions to the Higurashi Shrine, Akiha noticed that the shrine may be big, but it wasn't as big as the shrine she was living in. She then saw her own grandmother arguing with an old man, which seemed to be Kagome's grandpa.

"Ugh! You cheated in that game, cheater!" shouted Akiha's grandma.

"You're calling me a cheater?! Must I remind you of the time when you cheated, old hag?!" argued Kagome's grandpa.

"Um...grandma?" called Akiha.

Both elders turned to see Akiha near them. "Akiha! What are you doing here?" asked Akiha's grandma, surprised.

"I came to see Kagome," answered Akiha.

"Ah, so this is Akiha, your granddaughter, eh? It's been a long time," welcomed Kagome's grandpa, shaking her hands.

"I'm sorry, do we know each other?"

"You were still an infant, so I don't blame you for not remembering me," explained Kagome's grandpa. "I am Kagome's grandfather as well as the Head Priest of the Higurashi Shrine. Kagome is...sick! With a terrible illness! One minutes, she's rolling around, laughing, and next, she's crying! The poor thing..."

"You cannot expect me to believe that, you old fool!" argued Akiha's grandma. "I will believe that Kagome may be sick all the time, but a ridiculous illness like that doesn't exist! Tell me the truth!"

"I am telling the truth, you moron! I always am!" argued back Kagome's grandpa.

"Liar!"

"Um...is it okay if I explore the shrine for a little bit?" asked Akiha politely.

"Huh? Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Anyways, I'm not lying!"

While Akiha scrambled out of there, she started exploring the shrine. It was indeed incredible, and there were more stone statues than the ones back in her own home. Finally, she saw a small shrine in a warehouse with the doors closed. She walked towards the sign and read it outloud:

**The Bone Eater's Well **

"That's a strange name," wondered Akiha. Curiously, she opened the doors and saw a small well in the middle. As she got closer to see how deep the well was, she suddenly tripped and fell into the well headon.

"AAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Akiha as she closed her eyes and fell down. Suddenly, she felt a thud and rubbed her head. "Owww...that hurt!"

Akiha noticed some vines as some sort of ladder to climb up. Once out of the well, she noticed the surroundings were different. One second, she was in a weird shrine, and the second, she seemed to be in a large forest.

"Where am I?" questioned Akiha. "Am I dreaming? Ow!" She pitched herself to make sure it was a dream. Sadly, it wasn't. "No..I guess not. But, where am I exactly?"

A few hours later of walking around the forest, Akiha decided to rest in a small grassy plain with a small river. Suddenly, she heard a rustle in the bushes and looked around. "W-who's there?" called Akiha, scared.

Akiha was even more scared when she saw some sort of monster approach her slowly. "A-a demon!"

"I thought I smelled something tasty! It's a human! A little girl at that!" the demon said, licking his lips and drool dripped from his mouth. "I was just getting hungry! How convenient!"

"D-don't come near me!" shouted Akiha, now frightened as her small body began shaking like a leaf. She then ran off as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Hahahaha! You think you can run from me?" questioned the demon, more entertained. "It's been a while since I ate children! She'll be the first!"

As Akiha ran and ran deeper in the forest, she had no idea where to go, but she knew she had to escape from this demon. But, she was breathing heavily, her body entirely hot, and her legs looks like they were about to give in any second.

Finally, she came across a large clearing and tripped on a tree's root, causing her to stop. That gave the demon a chance to strike. "I'm going to eat you!" He jumped into the air and started to pounce on her.

As the demon got closer and closer, a star inside of a circle appeared around Akiha. She unconsciously thrusted her hand at the demon, firing a fireball big enough to completely destroy the demon without him knowing what hit him.

Akiha slowly opened her eyes, and saw that the demon was gone. "W-where did he go...?" wondered Akiha, now calming down. As she got up, she heard a rustle from the bushes and turned around to see a small demon without countless tentacles.

She had never seen a demon, nor has she been touched by one. But this was the first-or second time she's seen one. From mere instinct, she could tell she was in a dangerous situation right now.

Akiha couldn't move, or even scream. A terror unbearable to ordinary humans was more than enough to crush a young girl such as herself. Suddenly, the demon with tentacles leaped off the ground and towards her-

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" **SLASH! **Akiha watched in horror and shock when the demon that was about to attack her was now in pieces in a split second.

Akiha's sight dimmed, and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

**Hope: Okay, end of this chapter! If you have any ideas, please tell me in your reviews! Other than that, please read and review!**


	2. The Feudal Era

**Hope: Alright, here comes the new chapter!**

**Inuyasha: If you ask me, I say it's a waste of time!**

**Hope: Oh, please! Miroku, please do the disclaimer! **

**Miroku: Of course! Mage of Hope doesn't own Inuyasha! **

* * *

"Hey, are you awake yet?"

At the sound of someone's voice, Akiha fluttered her eyes, trying to wake up. When her vision cleared, she saw a young man wearing a red kimono and he had silvery hair. Akiha sat up, and stared at the man, confused. Then, she noticed man's ears on his head.

"Hey, what are you staring at?" asked the man. Curiously, Akiha grabbed his ears and started rubbing them, feeling like they were soft.

_'They're so soft...are they real?' _wondered Akiha.

"What are you doing?!" shouted the man, pulling away Akiha's hands away from his ears. "Don't go rubbing my ears!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," apologized Akiha, bowing her head. "Wait...you look familiar..."

"Hey, I remember you!" said the man, pointing to Akiha. "You're the girl who was talking to Kagome!"

"Huh? You know Kagome?" asked Akiha, surprised and relieved.

"Yeah. By the way, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't introduce myself! I'm Akiha Kururugi, but you can call me Akiha. Who are you?"

"It's Inuyasha," replied Inuyasha. "Anyways, you were great! What kind of technique was that? You beat that demon by shining that light on him."

"Huh?" wondered Akiha, confused. "That's right...I was being chased by that demon...and then some light destroyed him. But then another demon came..."

"Oh, him? Yeah, I heard your screams and saw you defeat that first demon," explained Inuyasha. "When I saw that second demon, I killed him."

"Oh, that's right! Thank you very much, Inuyasha-san," thanked Akiha, bowing her head at him.

"No formalities. Just call me Inuyasha," assured Inuyasha. "Anyways, your clothes look like Kagome's. You came from 'the present,' didn't you?"

"Huh? The present?"

"You know, the present! Ugh, what a hassle! Come on, follow me!" Inuyasha stood up and started walking away.

Akiha got up quickly and followed Inuyasha. "Wait, I really don't understand, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha turned his head towards her. "If you ask Kagome, she can probably explain things."

"So, where are we going?"

"Kaede's village is up ahead. That's where Kagome is," explained Inuyasha.

As the two of them were walking, they got out of the forest and down some road. Suddenly, Inuyasha stopped and sniffed the air. "Hey, wait. There's a strange smell. I think those demons' buddies are around."

"What? What should we do?" asked Akiha, scared.

"What are you talking about? Let's go after them!" said Inuyasha.

"B-but I can't fight!"

"It should be easy if you use that red light again. Hey, here they come!"

Several small demons popped up and started charging towards the two, their fangs ready to tear them apart. "Iron Reaper Soul Stealer!" shouted Inuyasha. With one swipe, he took out several of them, but there was still more. In fact, some of them were heading towards Akiha, who was utterly defenceless.

Akiha shrieked in fear, then started climbing a short cliff, which wasn't difficult to climb. The demons tried to jump up and down to get Akiha, but failed easily. Akiha spotted some rocks on the grass, picked them up, and threw them at the demons as hard as she could.

Inuyasha, who was busy killing more small demons, saw Akiha throwing rocks at the demons. "What are you doing, you idiot?! Hurry up and use that glowing red light!"

"I'm working on it!" called Akiha. Once realizing she had no more rocks, she spotted a small boulder at the edge of the cliff she was in and pushed it off the edge. The boulder was enough to kill a few demons who was squashed by the weight, but there were still more.

"Die!" shouted a much larger demon. He jumped off the ground and landed in front of Akiha. Akiha screamed, got up, and started running away with the demon following her.

"Get down, kid!" ordered Inuyasha, hearing her cries. Akiha tackled to the ground just in time for Inuyasha to slice the demon that was chasing her. "What a weakling!"

"Um...thank you for saving me," thanked Akiha quietly.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I was just done with my own share of demons and wanted to finish off the rest. That was all."

"Are you...alright?" asked Akiha, worried that Inuyasha might have some injuries.

"Heh, those small demons are no match," said Inuyasha confidently. He turned to Akiha. "Hey, why didn't you use that last move again?"

"I didn't know how to," answered Akiha, jumping from the small cliff she climbed and landing safely on her feet.

"I see. That move came from her subconscious," said a small, unfamiliar voice. "She was so afraid to die, she did it unconsciously."

"Where's that voice coming from?" asked Akiha, looking around.

"It's just Myoga," assured Inuyasha, pointing to something in his shoulder. Akiha got on her tip-toes and saw some sort of small flea-like person.

"What a small person," commented Akiha. "Is he a demon, too?"

"Yes, I am Inuyasha' personal bodyguard. My name is Myoga," answered the flea.

"How can you say that you're my bodyguard when you run away at the tiniest sign of danger?" questioned Inuyasha, annoyed.

"Never mind that. This girl's power has not yet been awaken. Hold on for a second, girl."

Myoga jumped from Inuyasha's shoulder to Akiha's neck and started sucking blood from her. Akiha flinched at the pain and instantly slapped her neck, making Myoga stop and fall slowly at her open palm, like a balloon.

When Myoga recovered, he said, "It seems I was correct. And how tasty her blood was! Anyways, I tasted her blood and it seems she has a tremendous amount of spiritual power inside."

"Yeah, you're probably right. When I first smelled her, I smelled that she had a lot of power inside of her as well, which was weird," admitted Inuyasha. "Wait, I can smell demons coming."

"What do we do?" asked Akiha.

"You have to fight hard and make sure you don't slow Master Inuyasha down," answered Myoga. "We're getting close to Kaede's village. Well Master Inuyasha, I'm going ahead. Be careful."

Immediantly after he said that, Myoga bounched off Akiha's palm and fled off. "Hey Myoga! Wait!" called Inuyasha. "Damn, he's run off again! The demons around here are pathetic. Let's get going."

While Inuyasha and Akiha were walking towards Kaede's village, they encountered demons here and there. Inuyasha always uses his claws to strike them down, and Akiha provided little assistance by throwing rocks or other things off the ground to defend herself and attack the demons.

Soon, they arrived in a small village where there were obviously people, horses and other small houses. "Finally, we've arrived. This is Kaede's village," announced Inuyasha.

"Hey, Inuyasha!" called a familiar voice. Both of them turned to see Kagome. "There was a demon outside and we needed your help. You're never there when we need you."

"If you're talking about those little demons, I already took care of them," said Inuyasha.

Akiha popped out from behind Inuyasha. "Kagome...? That is you, right?"

"Akiha?! No...it can't be! How?!" asked Kagome, shocked to see her friend here. "What are you doing here in the Feudal Era, Akiha?!"

"I-I don't know," said Akiha. "I wanted to visit you, Kagome. To check up if you were alright. Then, I saw my grandma and your grandpa arguing. It seems they are rivals."

"Oh, so that's who that old lady was. I knew she was an old friend of Gramps, but I never knew she was your granmother," said Kagome, realizing who the woman was.

"Your grandpa was telling me that you had some iliness that made you start laughing like crazy, and then crying."

_'Not again, Grandpa!' _Kagome silently complained in her mind. "A-anyways, what happeend after?"

"Well, since I couldn't go see you, I wanted to explore the shrine. Then, I came across this well called the Bone Eater's Well. While I wanted to see how deep it was, I uh...well..."

"Spit it out already! What happened?" asked Inuyasha rudely.

"I...I kinda tripped and fell into the well?" squeaked Akiha, embarrassed.

"Haha, lame," said Inuyasha, making Akiha's face even more red.

"Inuyasha!" scolded Kagome, seeing Akiha embarrassed. She hit Inuyasha in the head hard.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"Apologize to her, Inuyasha! Or else I'll say that word!"

"Fine, fine!" Inuyasha kneedled down at Akiha's side and muttered, "I'm sorry."

"Apologize like you mean it!" ordered Kagome.

"No, it's fine," assured Akiha. "Kagome, can you please tell me what's going on? I'm confused."

"Okay, I need you to listen to me very carefully," Kagome started to explain. "This isn't the present."

"Then, where are we?" asked Akiha.

"This is the Feudal Era."

"Huh? The time of Nobunaga Oda and when guns first came to Japan?" asked Akiha, shocked.

"Yes, I'm sure it's surprising. But it's true," said Kagome. "I couldn't believe it at first either."

"Okay, but how do you get back to the present?"

"Behind this well, there's a well called the Bone Eater's Well. I'm sure you saw it before," said Kagome. "The well connects our time to Feudal Japan. You may be able to go back if you pass through there. It's on the eastern outskirts of this village."

"Really? Thank you, Kagome! Please, take me there!" pleaded Akiha. "Oh, and thank you too, Inuyasha. Without you, I would have been killed by those demons."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," said Inuyasha gruffly. "Let's just go."

It didn't take long for the three of them to arrive at the well. In fact, Akiha realized it was the same well she accidentally fell into. "This is the Bone Eater's Well," announced Kagome.

"It's the same well I fell in," exclaimed Akiha, examining the well. "It looks like demons could come out of it."

"Well, they used to toss the dead demons into it," replied Inuyasha.

"W-what?" asked Akiha, a bit surprised.

"Hey, don't say that. You're going to scare her," scolded Kagome.

"Whatever. The demons were dead anyways."

"You know what I mean, Inuyasha. You're so insensitive." Kagome turned to Akiha. "Sorry, Akiha."

"That's okay. So, do I go in from here?" asked Akiha.

"Yeah. If you jump right in, it should take you back to the present," said Kagome.

"J-jump in? O-okay. But, what about you, Kagome? Aren't you coming back?"

"No, I gotta stay with Inuyasha for a while. I'll tell you all about it when I get back," replied Kagome.

"Okay then." Akiha then walked towards the well, scared of how deep the well was. "H-here I go! ...Any minute now! I-I'm going-"

"What are you so scared of? Just hurry up and do it!" said Inuyasha, impatient.

"O-okay! Here I go! One...two...t-t-th-"

"Three, right?" asked Inuyasha before he roughly pushed her into the well.

"Aaaahhhhhh!" screamed Akiha as she fell to the well.

"Sit, boy!"

Immediantly, Inuyasha fell to the ground facedown. Serves him right for doing that.

"What did you do that for, Inuyasha?!" scolded Kagome, standing over the fallen half-demon.

"Hey! Stop doing that!" grunted Inuyasha as he tried to stand up. "And for your information, I was helping her out!"

"If by helping, you mean pushing a innocent, scared girl into the well!" shouted Kagome. "I'm going back! I'll return as soon as I know she's safe."

"Hey, wait! You can't do that!" complained Inuyasha. Unfortunely, he was too late. Kagome had already jumped down the well. "Fine! See if I care!"

* * *

_Back in the present... _

"Oww...that hurts..." Akiha softly complained, rubbing her butt. She spotted a ladder and started climbing up. Once she got out of the well, she recognized the small shrine she was in before she fell in the Feudal Era. "I'm...back?"

When Akiha cautiously went outside, she heard a loud voice that nearly broke her ears. "YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT?!"

Akiha followed the voice and found herself in front of Kagome's house, or so it seems. She knocked on the door. "Excuse me!" she called.

The door opened, and it revealed a young, kind-looking woman. "Hello, who are you?"

"I'm Akiha, Kagome's friend. Is my grandma in there?"

Just the mention of Akiha's name drove her grandma to run at the door entrance and hug her granddaughter. "Oh! You're alright! You were missing for hours!"

Then, a young boy who had earplugs stuck in his ears, and Kagome's grandpa appeared. "See? What'd I tell you? She's back!"

"Oh, hush!" scolded Akiha's grandma. "Akiha, he told me that you fell to some well in the shrine to another era. So, what really happened?"

"No, he's telling the truth," replied Akiha honestly. "I fell down the well and met Inuyasha, who rescued me. Then, he took me to Kagome and she lead me out of the well. Well actually, Inuyasha pushed me back to my own time."

"See? What did I tell you? I was right!" cheered Kagome's grandpa.

"What?! He's telling the truth?!" exclaimed Akiha's grandma. "But, there's no such thing-"

"But it's the truth!" supported Kagome, who entered the house.

"Kagome! What are you doing here? I thought you were with Inuyasha," said Akiha, surprised.

"I wanted to check up on you after the jerk pushed you down the well," replied Kagome, a bit mad.

"Now now. Let's all talk inside," suggested Kagome's mother.

Once inside, Akiha explained everything that happened to her, with Kagome and the rest of her family supporting her. Kagome also revealed that she lied about getting sick all the time to help Inuyasha and her other friends to get the Shikon Jewel Shards. It turns out that she was the one who accidentally broke it into many pieces, which have scattered throughout the region.

"...I see," said Akiha's grandma. "But you're all safe now, Akiha. You don't have to go back to the well anymore."

"I agree. It'll be too dangerous for you," agreed Kagome. "But...just don't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Okay," said Akiha. "Thank you for taking care of my grandma while I was gone. But we have to leave now."

"That's fine," replied Kagome's mother.

"Ahem! I'm waiting for a apology," coughed Kagome's grandpa.

"...Fine. I'm sorry," said Akiha's grandma, annoyed. "Let's go, Akiha. You must be tired."

"Okay. Bye, everyone."

* * *

_The next day... _

After school, when Akiha returned home, she found a note and realized that her grandma had gone shopping for groceries, so Akiha thought, _'Maybe if I give something to Kagome for her trip, she might feel better.' _

So, Akiha gathered some supplies in a First-Aid kit before heading out to the Higurashi Shrine. Seeing no one around, Akiha entered the shrine which held the Bone Eater's Well.

Once she felt her feet hit the ground, she looked up and saw the familiar vines that she held to climb up. Clutching her kit in one hand, she started climbing up with the other hand, which proved to be a bit difficult. When she got out, she saw the familiar scenery around her and knew she was in the Feudal Era.

Then, Akiha realized that she couldn't remember where the village was and fell to her knees, silently complaining. "Hey! Are you alright?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

Akiha turned, and saw a small kid running towards her way. "Um...are you lost?" she asked, kneeling down to his level.

"I should be asking you the same thing! I don't see you around these parts!" said the small boy. "My name's Shippo, what about you?"

"I'm Akiha, nice to meet you. Do you know someone named Kagome?"

"Kagome? She's my friend! Huh? Come to think of it, you have the same clothes as hers. Are you two sisters?"

"No, no," said Akiha, shaking her head. "If you're her friend, there's a favor I want to ask."

"What is it?"

"Can you take this to Kagome?" asked Akiha, giving the First-Aid kit. "It has medicine in it. Tell her it's from Akiha, okay?"

"Sure! No problem!" agreed Shippo, taking the First-Aid kit. "Whoa! This is a bit heavy! But I can handle it! Hey, are you from the present?"

"Yes. Well, I have to go. Bye, Shippo!"

"Bye, Akiha!" said Shippo, waving at her as she fell down to the well.

When Akiha arrived back to her own time, she thought, _'If grandma is home, I should tell her that I took a walk. It's not entirely a lie, but I don't want to worry Grandma.' _

Unknown to her, something was crawling out of the well and out of the shrine.

* * *

_Meanwhile, back in the Feudal Era... _

"Kagome! Kagome!" cried out Shippo, running towards Kagome and Inuyasha, who were arguing about something.

"Huh? Shippo, what's that?" asked Kagome, kneeling down.

"Some girl named Akiha told me to give it to you," replied Shippo, out of breath.

"That kid? I thought she wouldn't enter the well again," said Inuyasha.

"Well, at least she got us some medicine. We were running out of supplies anyways," said Kagome. "I'll thank Akiha when I get ba- Oh no!"

"What? What's wrong/" asked Inuyasha.

"I just remembered that I have a huge test tommorow! I have to go back home and study!" exclaimed Kagome before running out of the village.

"Hey! Come back here!" shouted Inuyasha, chasing after her. "What about the Shikon Jewel shards?!"

"Tommorow, after school!" called Kagome. "And stop chasing me!"

"No way!"

"Kagome, what do I do with this?" asked Shippo, after chasing after Kagome with the First-Aid kit in his hands.

"Sit, boy!" shouted Kagome, making Inuyasha fall down facedown. "I'll return tommorow after school! Good day!" With that said, she jumped into the well, leaving an annoyed Inuyasha and a panting Shippo.

* * *

_Later, that night... _

A strange figure crawled through the night, making slurping sounds as it crawled around, until it reached the Kururugi Shrine. "Gehehehehe! I see...I sense some power inside! I must...have it!"

During the night, Akiha felt something wrong, as if something bad was going to happen. _'No, it must be my imagination.' _Akiha got up, and decided to go get a drink. When she got up to the kitchen, she heard a crashing sound and quickly turned on the lights.

She gasped when she saw some sort of faceless, featureless silhouette on the ground, getting up slowly. Akiha's grandma must have woken up due to the noise, because she arrived at Akiha side and gasped at the mysterious figure as well. "A demon?!" exclaimed Akiha's grandma.

She turned to her granddaughter. "Akiha, you have to run! I'll hold him off as long as I can!"

"But, you'll be hurt!"

"Don't argue with me! Go, now!"

Nodding fearfully, Akiha opened the front door and started running. "Power...I smell power!" The demon flew past Akiha's grandma and started chasing Akiha.

When Akiha realized the demon was chasing only her, she thought, _'He's...only after me? Wait! Inuyasha and Myoga-san told me that they felt power from me! What did they mean? Whatever the case, I have to get Inuyasha! He's probably the only one who can defeat this demon!' _

Somehow, Akiha had managed to get to the Kururugi Shrine, throwing small objects at the demon along the way to slow him down, even a little. Suddenly, the demon stopped, and said in a raspy voice, "The Shikon Jewel shards...I feel their power! It's nearby!"

With that, the demon ignored Akiha and headed straight towards a window in Kagome's house. Akiha heard Kagome's scream and feared for the worse. She realized she had to get Inuyasha now, so she ran inside the shrine, and jumped into the well without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was sleeping next to the well. He couldn't believe Kagome took off like that due to some stupid test! When he finds her, he'll give her the lecture of her life!

"Inuyasha!" cried out a panicked voice. "Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha woke up, and looked down the well to see Akiha frantically climbing up the well. He just grabbed Akiha's hand and pulled her up. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I-it's a demon!" cried out Akiha, not calming down anytime soon. "It attacked my grandma, then chased after me because of some power I possessed! But I managed to escape and wanted to get you when the demon sensed the Shikon Jewel Shards and attacked Kagome!"

"What?!" shouted Inuyasha. "Alright, hang on!" Inuyasha forced Akiha on his back as he jumped down the well, into her and Kagome's timeline.

Once arriving, Inuyasha immediantly sensed a demon nearby and jumped out of the well and the shrine. When he and Akiha got out, they saw Kagome being chased by the mysterious demon, and she was holding the Shikon Jewel Shards in a small jar.

"MINE! MINE!" growled the demon, lunging at her.

"Hold on, kid!" warned Inuyasha, leaping forward. He unsheathed his sword, which transformed into a large blade, and he sliced the demon in half, defeating it quickly.

Kagome fell to the ground, panting for breath. "T-thanks, Inuyasha..."

"Kagome! Are you alright?" asked Kagome's mother as she, Kagome's granpa, and her brother, Sota, rushed outside.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Kagome, nodding her head.

Akiha sighed in relief. "Oh, good...we're all safe..."

"Akiha!" called a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see Akiha's grandma with a frying pan climbing up the stairs and running as fast as she could.

"Grandma!" cried Akiha, jumping off Inuyasha's back and running towards her grandma, embracing her. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

"As do I! Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine!" Akiha turned to Inuyasha, letting go of her grandma. "Inuyasha-san, thank you so much!"

"I told you, no formalities!" said Inuyasha.

"Oh! Right, I'm sorry!"

"You're Inuyasha, right?" asked Akiha's grandma. "I'm Akiha's guardian and grandmother. Thank you for saving us. But, there is one more thing."

"And what's that?" asked Inuyasha.

**POW! **"OW! What was that for?!" shouted Inuyasha, getting a huge bump on his head after being hit by the frying pan Akiha's grandma wielded.

"That was for pushing my granddaughter down the well!" scolded Akiha's grandma.

"Yeah, that's right! Apologize to her!" agreed Kagome, now remembering the little incident Inuyasha displayed before to Akiha.

"You're on her side?!" asked Inuyasha, rubbing his bump.

"No, no! It's alright! Since Inuyasha saved all of us, I guess we'll call it even," suggested Akiha.

"By the way, I think I know why that demon was after you," said Inuyasha.

"Why?" asked Akiha.

"Because you have tremendous power inside. No wonder any demon would go after you for that. If I were you, I wouldn't stay in this era, or better yet, in my world."

"Oh...I see..." Akiha turned to her grandma. "Grandma? I'm sorry, but...I guess I'll have to travel with Inuyasha and his other friends."

"What?! I didn't say that!"

"But why?" asked Akiha's grandma.

"If I stay here, more demons will come, and it won't be safe! I'll come and visit sometimes, and do all my work, but I have to keep you safe! Please, understand, grandma."

"...Alright, fine," Akiha's grandma finally agreed. "I guess you're right. But, please promise me you'll be safe and stay alive, alright?"

"Yes! I promise!"

"As for you," started Akiha's grandma, walking towards Inuyasha. "Keep my granddaughter safe, or else it won't be just the frying pan I'll be hitting you with!"

"Fine, fine! I'm not scared of you, old lady," scoffed Inuyasha, crossing his arms. **POW! **"OW! QUIT DOING THAT!"

"Akiha, we should go tommorow after school. We've got a huge test tommorow, remember?" suggested Kagome.

"Yes, you're right."

* * *

**Hope: And that's that! Please give me some ideas if you know any! Anyways, read and review!**


	3. Learning Shikigami and the Spider Demon

**Hope: Here's the brand-new chapter!**

**Kagome: That was sure quick!**

**Hope: Yeah, now please do the disclaimer!**

**Kagome: Mage of Hope doesn't own Inuyasha! **

* * *

"About time you got here!" said Inuyasha impatiently, watching both Kagome and Akiha climb out of the well. The next day, after school, both girls decided to go back to the Feudal Era as promised. Of course, they bought some supplies as well.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Akiha.

"We should go visit Kaede," suggested Kaede. "She's the wisest person in this village. She's a priestess, and she knows a lot."

"But she's always nagging me!" complained Inuyasha.

"Only because you're always getting into trouble," countered Kagome. "Anyways, she lives on the west side of the village square. Let's go."

Once arriving at the village, they soon found a house. "Is this the place?" asked Akiha.

"This is priestess Kaede's house," introduced Kagome.

Suddenly, another Kagome exited the house. "What?! There's two of you, Kagome?!" exclaimed Akiha.

"Hey, behave yourself, Shippo," scolded Inuyasha, standing in front of the Kagome look-alike.

"What's she supposed to think, with you looking like that?" asked Kagome.

Suddenly, with a poof sound, the Kagome look-alike vanished under all the dust and revealed a young boy, the same boy Akiha realized from last time, Shippo. "I didn't mean to scare you," said Shippo. "I was just practicing the art of transformation. Oh, wait! You're the girl from before! Aki-something?"

"Akiha," reminded Akiha. "Nice to see you again, Shippo."

"What, you do know each other?" asked Kagome. "Oh yeah, the First-Aid kit."

"Still, I'm amazed you can use transforming magic your age, Shippo," commented Akiha, impressed.

"Just so you know, I'm not a kid. I'm a respectable adult," told Shippo.

"Don't be such a smart-aleck," scoffed Inuyasha.

"What did you say, Inuyasha?" shouted Shippo, annoyed. He jumped up, and started hitting Inuyasha as hard as he could in the head.

"Both of you, stop it!" ordered Kagome. "Remember, we're going to Kaede's house."

"Cut it out, Shippo!" shouted Inuyasha, yanking the young boy off him. Then, he punched him in the head as hard as he could.

"That's it! Inuyasha, sit!" yelled Kagome.

"Uwah!" screamed Inuyasha, falling to the ground, hard.

"Um...Inuyasha? Are you okay?" asked Akiha, kneeling down and poking Inuyasha. "Hey, what was that?"

"This is the power of Priestess Kaede," explained Kagome. "You see the beads around Inuyasha's neck? They're called the Beads of Subjugation. They're used to control Inuyasha whenever he goes mad."

"Oh, I see," said Akiha.

"Yeah right!" shouted Inuyasha. "You only use them whenever you want!"

"Anymore and I might say that word again," threatned Kagome. "Anyways, let's go."

When they got inside, there was an old lady inside. She was surprised to see the group of friends. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?" asked Kaede. "Kagome and Shippo too?" She then noticed Akiha, who was being shy and hid behind Kagome. "Oh, who are you?"

"Um...hello. My name is Akiha," said Akiha, still hiding behind Kagome.

"Kaede can't see you," replied Inuyasha. He gave Akiha a good kick, forcing her to fall forward in front of everyone.

"Inuyasha!" scolded Kagome.

"I-I'm fine," said Akiha, standing up and wiping the dust off her knees. "I'm sorry if I didn't introduce myself properly, Lady Kaede. My name's-"

"No, it's alright. I got it," assured Kaede. "From the look of your clothes, I guess you came from the same place as Kagome."

"Yes," said Akiha.

"You can relax. No one's going to eat you. Please, sit down." When everyone was seated, Kaede asked, "Now, what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, when I returne to my time, sometime later, a demon arrived. Luckily, I managed to get Inuyasha and he defeated the demon. But the demon wanted not only the Shikon Jewel shards, but he said I had tremendous power inside," explained Akiha.

"I see...I do sense power inside of you. It doesn't seem like my imagination," muttered Kaede. "Did you unleash your power, even once?"

"Well, just once. But I was too scared, so I didn't see what kind of power," said Akiha. "I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's alright," assured Kaede. "Hmm...how about this? I heard of a special traveler traveling around the region, and she often goes to Akemi village. Maybe she can help you."

"Akemi village? That's not very far," said Kagome.

"But there are all kinds of demons on the road going there," whined Shippo.

"As long as I'm here, those demons are no match!" said Inuyasha, confidently.

"By the way, what sort of powers do you have?" asked Akiha.

"Inuyasha is a half-demon, and Shippo is also a demon," explained Kaede.

"Really? I didn't notice," said Akiha, surprised.

"Seriously? My ears and claws didn't make you notice?" asked Inuyasha, annoyed.

"Oh, so is Inuyasha some sort of sog demon? And what do you mean, half?"

"Half-demons, such as Inuyasha, are half demon, and half human," explained Kaede. "Most mothers are human, while the fathers are demons."

"Hey, Akiha! Can you guess what kind of demon I am?" asked Shippo.

"Um...are you a raccoon demon? Or a squirrel?" questioned Akiha.

"Grrrr! Why do people say that? I'm a fox demon!" said Shippo, irritated.

"Anyways, shouldn't you be going?" reminded Kaede.

"Oh, right! Thank you, Kaede," thanked Kagome. While traveling to Akemi village, what Shippo said was true. There were lots of demons, but they were weak, so Kagome, Shippo, and Inuyasha fought them off easily. Akiha hid and often defended herself with a smple, but hard stick. She was impressed by everyone fighting, and she also didn't know Kagome was so good at archery.

Once in the village, everyone decided to split up in groups of two to find the traveler Kaede told them about. Kagome and Shippo were in one team, and Akiha and Inuyasha were the other.

Soon, Akiha and Inuyasha walked into a small clearing in the village, where there was an old lady standing near a small lake by some trees, where the birds were chirping. "Hmm...what rare use of Shikigami power," commented the old lady.

"What?" asked Akiha, confused. When the old lady turned around, she thought, _'This lady looks a lot like my grandma!' _

"When you were in danger, do you remember what you cried out?" asked the old lady.

"How would you know?" asked Inuyasha.

"Hahahaha! I wonder!" chuckled the old lady.

"Strange old lady," grumbled Inuyasha.

"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kakaju," introduced the old lady.

"My name is Akiha, and this is Inuyasha. Um...excuse me, but are you the traveler everyone's been talking about? You know, the one that always goes to this village?" asked Akiha, politely.

"Yes, indeed. What seems to be the problem?"

"She may not look much, but this kid has a mysterious, yet incredible power," told Inuyasha.

"It's nothing, really," said Akiha. "Miss Kakuju, what is this strange power anyways?"

"It's what we call Shikigami," explained Kakuju. "It's a spiritual power that exists in all creatures in the universe."

"It sounds amazing," said Akiha, astonished.

"Well, you've only just awakened your powers," said Kakuju. "You don't even know how to use them to their fullest potential yet."

"Oh...I'm pretty helpless," sighed Akiha. "Well, that's to be expected from someone from another world."

"Another world?" questioned Kakuju, confused.

"Yes, I'm from a different world. One of my friends is too."

"Oh, that's unusual. Well, that explains why you're wearing such strange clothes."

'So, do you know anything about this Shikigami power?" asked Inuyasha.

"Sorry, but I'm retired now. My powers have weakened, and I could produce only a few spells," said Kakuju.

"That's okay," assured Akiha.

"Wait. I can teach you how to use the Shikigami power that lies within you," offered Kakuju. "Would you like to learn it?"

"That's great! You should learn how to use it," agreed Inuyasha.

"Yes, okay. Thank you, Kakuju-san," thanked Akiha, bowing her head.

"Okay, stand in front of me, hold my hand, and be very still," ordered Kakuju, holding out her hand. Akiha gently touched her hand, and closed her eyes, helping her concentration. Her body started litting up,and Akiha felt power pulsing inside of her.

"Okay, you can stop now," called Kakuju. Akiha opened her eyes and stepped back.

"What happened?" asked Akiha, confused.

"Well, your body lit up," said Inuyasha. "Hey, old lady! Is that the power of Shikigami?"

"No, no. We've just awakened the Shikigami," explained Kakuju. "We'll learn how to use Shikigami now. I'll teach you some healing and supporting spells you need for battle, alright?"

"Yes, I'm ready," said Akiha, confident in her power.

"Here, I made this scroll when I was young so I can memorize the incantations to the spells I had to learn," said Kakuju, handing Akiha a scroll. "But they're all supporting spells. You have to concentrate and focus on these spells, but they won't be easy."

"I'll use them now," said Akiha. "Who should I target?"

"How about you, Inuyasha?" asked Kakaju.

"Alright. As long as she's not attacking me or anything," agreed Inuyasha.

As Inuyasha braced himself, Akiha opened the scroll and opened her palm towards Inuyasha, closing her eyes to focus hard. "Oh overflowing blue sky, expel the unclean! Blue Sky Antidote!"

A green aura surrounded Inuyasha, but it didn't seem to do much on him. "Huh? I don't feel anything."

"Oh no! Did I mess something up? Or was my concentration not good enough?" asked Akiha.

"No, no. You were great on your first try!" said Kakuju, applauding. "That spell is a spell to get rid of poison. Since Inuyasha didn't have any, it was obvious it didn't work. But you did a good job."

"Thank you, Kakuju," thanked Akiha. "Hmm...let's see...Inuyasha, do you have any injuries?"

"Hmm? Well, I got a scratch from some demon," said Inuyasha, kneeling down and pulling up his leg to show a small scratch. "Don't worry about it, it'll disappear soon."

"O mighty overflowing river, give me your blessing, Great river blessing," chanted Akiha, pressing her palm on Inuyasha's small wound. Her hand glowed blue, and the wound was healed instantly.

"Whoa! It actually worked!" exclaimed Inuyasha.

"I did it!" said Akiha, excited. "Hmm...how about this?" Akiha got up, and looked like she was praying. "Oh, brightly shining light, come forth, unyielding aegis! Shield of Light!"

A circular barrier surrounded Akiha as she was concentrating on her magical power. Inuyasha got curious and knocked on the barrier, causing it to shatter. Akiha gasped as it shattered and faded into nothing.

"You probably weren't concentrating hard enough," told Kakuju. "But you did a fine job anyways. Anyways, take this." Kakuju handed a small, shining rock, which Akiha took. "This rock is made from Serpentine. It reacts to the power of Shikigami. Therefore-"

"Inuyasha! Akiha!" called Kagome. Everyone turned to see Kagome and Shippo running towards them.

"What is it? Things were about to get interesting," said Inuyasha, annoyed.

"We heard from the villagers that there's some spider demon that took some man's son. They sent men there, but they never returned," explained Shippo.

"That's terrible! So, are we going there?" asked Akiha.

"Of course!" said Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha! This is so unlike you! Are you okay?" asked Shippo, surprised.

"I just need a little bit of excitement, is all," answered Inuyasha. "I am bored after all."

"Oh, I see."

"But, the spider demon.." started Akiha, scared of demons.

"It's probably just some stale old demon that lives in the old demon," replied Inuyasha. "By the way, where's the old temple?"

"It's at the end of the village past the rocky expanse," told Kagome. "Akiha, are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"Don't worry, Kagome. Kakuju-san here taught me a few spells to Shikigami," explained Akiha, pointing to the old Shikigami user. "Oh, thank you for helping me, Kakuju-san!"

"It's no problem," said Kakuju.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Inuyasha, impatiently.

After the four of them left, Kakuju was left alone. "...I didn't even teach her how to attack with Shikigami yet. Oh well. I just hope she'll be alright along with her friends."

* * *

_Later... _

When Kagome and the others walked to their destination, they encountered several demons along the way. Due to Akiha casting her new spells written on the scroll, usually some healing or supporting spells, that just made things easier. Shippo got excited whenever Akiha casted a new spell and practically squealed with joy. But sometimes, her spells didn't always work due to her being attacked, or she didn't concentrate hard enough.

While still walking, Shippo asked, "Hey Akiha, what's that rock you're holding?"

"Huh?" All this time, Akiha hardly noticed the Serpentine rock she always held. "Oh, Kakuju-san gave this to me. She said this reacted to Shikigami. Maybe if I try something, something will happen."

Akiha held the rock in front of her, closed her eyes, and began concentrating on her Shikigami power. Suddenly, the Serpentine rock exploded. It was just a small explosion and hardly harmed Akiha, but it made her yelp in surprise, and everyone else was surprised as well.

"Oh no! I-I destroyed Kakuju-san's rock!" exclaimed Akiha, worried she might get in trouble for doing that.

"Um...if we find some later, we can use that as a replacement," suggested Kagome.

"Yeah, no need to get all upset over some rock," scoffed Inuyasha.

"O-okay," agreed Akiha, still worried.

When arriving at the so-called old temple, it looked ruined, dark, and it was perfect for a spider's dwelling. The floor creaked with every step they took, small spider webs and dust wwere everywhere, and every time a small bug crawled past them, everyone but Inuyasha shrieked. Inuyasha just got annoyed with every shriek they made.

Finally, Inuyasha stopped and sniffed the air. "There's a strange smell."

"Smell? What are you saying? I don't smell anything," said Akiha, sniffing the air also.

"Inuyasha has a much better sense of smell do we do," explained Shippo.

"That's the smell of blood, no doubt about it. There's also a strong smell of human blood," said Inuyasha.

"Then, that means-!" gasped Akiha.

"Yeah, there are dead humans here."

"Be carefu, Inuyasha," warned Kagome. "The smell of blood and the thought of the spider's web are giving me a bad feeling."

"I know," said Inuyasha. "But we can't come this far and turn around. You guys stay here."

"What are you saying, Inuyasha?" asked Shippo.

"No matter how strong you are, you'll still be in danger if you go alone," argued Kagome.

"Oh, be quiet. It's better to fight a ghost by yourself, anyways," groaned Inuyasha. "I'll defeat him quickly, then come back. You guys stay here."

"Always making decisions on your own! What a jerk!" complained Shippo.

"That's what he said, but he's really trying to keep us from danger," said Kagome calmly.

"Really? I didn't hear him say that."

"He's just too proud to admit it." Suddenly, Kagome's expression turned serious. "W-what's that?"

"Huh? I feel something too," mumbled Akiha, feeling a great power.

"I sense shards of the Shikon Jewel!" said Kagome.

"What?! Really?" asked Shippo.

"There's definitely shards of the Shikon Jewel nearby."

"Kagome, you told me that the shards are indeed powerful but dangerous," recalled Akiha. "But, what happens if a bad person got ahold of it?"

"If a demon uses the shards, they'll become more powerful," said Shippo, a worried look on his face. "If the demon spider has them, then..."

"Inuyasha is in danger," said Kagome. "Shippo, let's go. Akiha, wait here. If you're in danger, just use your barrier or just call for help if there's any real danger."

"O-okay," agreed Akiha. After a while, she thought, _'W-what should I do? I don't want to be a bother to anyone. But I'm really worried about Inuyasha and the others. They've been gone for a long time.' _

Suddenly, he heard Inuyasha's voice. "W-what is this?!"

"AAAAHHHHH!" screamed Kagome.

"W-what happened?!" wondered Akiha. Without hesitation, she ran to where the scream came from, and opened a door that lead to the spider demon. When she opened it, she saw Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo laying on the ground, all caught in some spider web's net.

"Well, well, there's more of you," said the spider demon sadistically, licking his lips. "Since you escaped being captured, I'll give you the opportunity to run away. Do you really want me to suck your blood?"

Before Akiha could answer, a sphere of energy came towards her way and hit her straight on. "AAAHHHHH!" Akiha fell to the ground, but she wasn't too injured.

"H-he's using power from the shards of the Shikon Jewel," shouted Inuyasha. "You can't win, you have to run away!"

_'But, if I run away, he'll kill them all! What should I do?' _wondered Akiha to herself. She looked up and saw some sparkling rock near the spider demon. _'There's some Serpentine rock over there! I bet I can make it explode again!' _

"Give up, little girl?" asked the spider demon, thristy for blood. "Well then, I'm gonna eat you first!"

"Idiot! Whyy are you standing there?! Run away!" ordered Inuyasha.

"You have to run away! We'll be okay!" pleaded Kagome.

"Quickly, run away!" shouted Shippo.

Akiha closed her eyes, clasped both her hands, looking like she was praying, and concentrated on the Serpentine rock. Words she had never spoken left her mouth. "O flame burning bright, turn into a sword of wrath!"

Her Shikigami power was enough to destroy the Serpentine Rock, causing it to explode and the spider demon to yelp, making him drop the spidr web which he caught Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo in.

"We're free from the web!" said Shippo.

"Great! Now we can get him!" said Inuyasha.

"Damn you all! I'm going to drink everyone's blood!" cursed the spider demon, regaining his sight. He fired some spider snot from his mouth, making everyone to dodge as quickly as possible. However, his attack scraped Kagome's arm really badly, and for her to cry in pain.

"You're going to regret hurting her!' yelled Inuyasha.

"Take this!" shouted the spider demon, firing yet another stream of spider snot.

Inuyasha dodged out of the way, and Shippo stepped in. "Fox Fire!" A small green flare appeared at his palm, and he fired it at the spider demon.

Akiha repeated the same words she said before. "O flame, burning bright, turn into a sword of wrath! Raging Flame!" With her two palms, she fired a small fireball at the same time Shippo fired his Fox Fire.

Together, the two combined together to form a fireball with green flames surrounding it. It effectively hit the spider demon right between the eyes, making him scream in pain.

Akiha noticed something sparkling in the spider demon's forehead. "There's something in his forehead!"

"The Shikon Jewel shards are in the forehead!" cried out Kagome, tending to her wound. "How did you know?"

"Who cares about that for now? We know where it is now!" shouted Inuyasha.

"I invoke thee, Shikigami!" chanted Akiha, praying so that she could concentrate.

Inuyasha recognized this spell and grunted, "Here goes!" He unsheathed Tessaiga as fast as he could. Tessaiga's blade glowed blue, enchancing its attack power. With a war cry, Inuyasha charged forward, and sliced the spider demon.

"Take this!" shouted Kagome, firing an arrow from her bow. The arrow shined brightly when it hit the demon in the forehead, purifying it and then making it vanish into nothing.

"Phew! Is everyone alright?" asked Akiha, sighing in relief.

"Thank you for helping us. I thought we were done for," thanked Kagome, gathering up the Shikon Jewel shards.

"No, I should be saying that to all of you. I didn't do much anyways," replied Akiha.

**POW! **"Ow!" cried Akiha in pain after Inuyasha punched her in the head, making Kagome gasp.

"What an idiot!" shouted Inuyasha, angrily. "When we tell you to run away, you run away!"

"Inuyasha!" said Kagome. "Sit, boy!"

"Guah!" yelled Inuyasha as he fell to the ground, once again, facedown.

"What a thing to do to a girl!" scolded Kagome, rubbing Akiha's head gently. "Besides, she helped us, so you should be thankful!"

"Yeah, everyone's safe now," agreed Shippo.

"Oh, shut up," grunted Inuyasha, trying to get up.

"You could at least say thanks," mumbled Shippo.

"That's not neccessary. I'm glad I was able to help out, even a little," replied Akiha politely.

"Ugh!" groaned Kagome, clutching her arm.

"What's wrong?" asked Akiha. Kagome showed her arm, and it revealed a bit of purplish color.

"You got poisoned!" exclaimed Shippo. "It must be the spider demon! We have to get help!"

"Wait! I think I know how to do this," said Akiha. She pressed her palms against the poisonous arm, and chanted, "Oh overflowing blue sky, expel the unclean! Blue Sky Antidote!"

Kagome was surrounded in a green aura, just like Inuyasha was when she first tested out that spell, and the purple color vanished. "The pain's gone! Thanks, Akiha!"

"Well, I guess you aren't totally useless," said Inuyasha, sounding impressed.

"Huh?"

"That's his way of saying thank you," replied Shippo to Akiha.

"Oh, I see."

"Just shut up, Shippo," grumbled Inuyasha.

"Something's moving over there," said Akiha, pointing to some sort of cocoon. "It looks like a spider's cocoon."

"Oh no. It's not a spider's egg, is it?" asked Kagome, worried.

"If that's the case, I'll slice it in half!" declared Inuyasha. He rushed forward and sliced the egg in half. Once the egg was destroyed, it revealed a little boy trapped there.

"It's a boy!" exclaimed Shippo.

"We're just glad Inuyasha didn't slice up the little boy," said Akiha, a bit freaked out on what would happen.

"Are you okay Does anything hurt?" asked Kagome, kneeling down to the trembling boy.

"No, I'm fine."

"At least he hasn't eaten the boy yet. Come on, let's go," said Inuyasha.

* * *

_Back in Akemi village... _

After helping the boy back to his family, his family thanked them for all their hard work. Then, the group decided to go back to Kakuju, hoping to learn new Shikigami powers for Akiha.

Luckily, Kakuju was still there when they returned to the very spot where he was. "Kakuju-san!" called Akiha.

Kakuju turned around and was surprised to see the group in one peace. "Well, you haven't been gone long, but you've experienced so much," she said, impressed. "It looks like you've learned how to use the power of the Shikigami much better now. Tell me what happened."

"Well..." Akiha started to explain.

After explaining everything, Akiha held out her hands, and Kakuju saw the shattered remains of the Serpentine rock she gave her. "I-I'm sorry," apologized Akiha. "I wanted to see what would happen to the rock if I focus my power into it, but it exploded."

"It's fine, dear," assured Kakuju. "That was supposed to happen."

"Really?"

"See? Told ya you had nothing to worry about," said Inuyasha.

"I'm surprised that you defeated the spider," admitted Kakuju. "You've gotten better at the power of Shikigami. But I have a premonition that you'll be fighting more demons from now on. But there's hope."

"What a stupid old lady!" grumbled Inuyasha.

"You're so rude, Inuyasha!" scolded Kagome. "Sorry, Kakuju."

"That's okay. Anyways, there are many different uses and types for Shikigami. It can do more than just break rocks. In fact, you can use it for fighting. If you want to learn the power of Shikigami when you're fighting, come besides me." After Akiha stood besides Kakuju, she ordered, "Close your eyes and be very still."

After closing her eyes, she felt an immense power inside of her growing stronger and stronger, and everyone else saw Akiha's body lit up red while she was concentrating.

"Now you have learned to call upon the power of Shikigami when you fight," said Kakuju.

"Hey old lady, is this for real?!" asked Inuyasha, excited. "That's so cool!"

"Now I will teach you the power of Shikigami when you are fighting," said Kakuju.

"Yes, please."

"For you, you use Elemental Shikigami. Luckily for you, I used to fight in that way," instructed Kakuju. "For Elemental Shikigami, there are 9 types of Shikigami. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, Dark, Wood, Thunder, and Ice. There are very few who use all types, such as you and me. Let's try Fire first."

"Oh, that's easy! I fired a fireball at the spider demon," said Akiha. To prove it, she pointed to the river and chanted outloud, "O flame burning bright, turn into a sword of wrath! Raging Flame!"

Immediantly, a small fireball fired from her palms and towards the river, vanquishing the freball quickly as soon as it hit the river.

"Very good, Akiha!" exclaimed Kakuju. "But, did you know you can make an even bigger fireball by focusing more power into it?" Kakuju stepped forward, and thrusted her hand forward.

"O flame burning bright," Kakuju started chanting. "Turn into a sword of Wrath! Raging Flame!" This time, a fireball the size of a boulder shot from her palm and towards a tree, burning it instantly.

Everyone was taken aback by the size of the fireball. "Whoa!" shouted Shippo, falling to the ground.

"Amazing!" said Kagome.

Though Akiha was impressed by the huge fireball, she panicked over the burning tree. "Ah! That tree's burning! It could cause a forest fire!"

"That's where the next step comes in," said Kakuju calmly. "Now, picture your head a waterfall, and force yourself to feel water rushing down, even if there isn't any, and focus on using the water to attack. The incantation should come to you soon. You can even make it up if you want."

Akiha nodded and glanced at the burning tree. She thrusted her palms forward, focused her magic power, and imagined really hard that water was pouring from her hands and towards the burning tree. "Oh, mighty flowing river, become a violent torrent! Great River Torrent!"

A ball of water with a floating fish in it formed in Akiha's palms as Akiha gazed at it amazingly. She then threw the ball of water towards the burning tree as hard as she could, drenching it completely.

"Good job, Akiha!' commented Kakuju.

Akiha fell to the knees, panting heavily. "W-what's wrong with me? I feel tired all of a sudden."

"You must have used up too much energy, using all those Shikigami spells. Now, you must learn more about Shikigami on your own. I'm afraid that's all I have to offer up today."

"Oh, okay," replied Akiha. "Thank you, Kakuju-san!"

"Oh! One more thing!" said Kakuju. She handed some clothes and a small book to her. "I found some robes I wore when I was training to be an excellent Shikigami user. I think they would fit you. Also, I made this book for basic spells. It should prove useful for you."

"Thank you, Kakuju-san!" exclaimed Akiha, bowing her head.

"Do you think you've learned how to use Shikigami in a fight?" asked Kakuju.

"I'm still a little uncertain, but I'm pretty sure I got it," replied Akiha.

"That's good for now. Soon, you'll be able to completely control it. After you've gained experience and learned to use it more efficently, not only will you be able to use it when you fight, but you will also use the many different powers of Shikigami."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. You should go now. I'm sure we'll meet again."

"Alright. Thank you again, Kakuju-san."

"Akiha, we should go back to Kaede's place," said Kagome. "Besides, I want to see you in that uniform!~"

"O-okay," agreed Akiha, following Inuyasha and the others.

* * *

**Hope: Alright! Looks like I'm done here. Oh, and before I go, I'll list all of the Shikigami spells used in this chapter. **

Fire Shikigami: Dragon

"O flame burning bright, turn into a sword of wrath!"

Raging Flame: Basic fire spell that shoots a fireball.

Water Shikigami: Fish

Great River Torrent: Basic water spells that shoots out water to an enemy.

"Oh mighty flowing river, become a violent torrent! Great River Torrent!"

Great River Blessing: Basic healing spells that heals some wounds

"Oh mighty overflowing river, give me your blessing!"

Wind Shikigami: Bird

Blue Sky Antidote: Basic wind spell that gets rid of poison.

"Oh overflowing blue sky, expel the unclean!"

Light Shikigami: Lion

Shield of Light: Shield forms around the user and anyone he or she chooses.

"Oh, brightly shining light, come forth, unyielding aegis!"


	4. Meeting Miroku and Sango

**Hope: There's a new chapter right here.**

**Shippo: That sure took a while!**

**Hope: Now that it's here, please do the disclaimer!**

**Shippo: Mage of Hope doesn't own Inuyasha except for her OCs! **

* * *

"Does it take this long for one stupid girl to change clothes?" complained Inuyasha. Both he and Shippo were outside of a small inn, waiting for their two female companions to hurry up and change Akiha's clothes to the clothes Kakuju gave her.

"For once, I agree with you, Inuyasha," sighed Shippo.

"Tell me about it," said Inuyasha, impatiently.

"Come on, Akiha! You look great! Not to mention, cute!" Kagome's teasing voice was heard. "I can't wait till I see Inuyasha and Shippo's expressions when they see you!~"

"But you said they didn't have to see!" pouted Akiha's voice.

"Oh, stop complaining! Hey, guys!"

"About time!" said Inuyasha as he and Shippo stood up. Kagome stood behind Akiha, grinning while Akiha just looked shy and flustered. Akiha wore a dark blue hakama, and a light blue shirt with white swinging sleeves. Anyone would comment her as cute if they saw her.

"About time! What was the trouble anyways?" asked Inuyasha, annoyed. Girls, he'll never understand them.

"W-wow, Akiha! Y-y-y-y-you look...amazing!" commented Shippo, flustered.

"T-thank you," thanked Akiha.

"Great, let's get going," said Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha! You have nothing to say?" asked Kagome, annoyed on why Inuyasha didn't comment on Akiha's clothing.

"Huh? She looks fine. I don't get why she has to wait that long to get changed," replied Inuyasha.

"Ugh, never mind!"

* * *

_In Kaede's village... _

Once back in Kaede's village, Kagome noticed two figures and called, "Hey! Miroku and Sango!"

Everyone turned to see a young man wearing dark purple robes, and a young, beautiful woman wearing a pretty kimono and a small cute cat coming their way. Of course, Akiha hid behind Kagome since she was so shy.

"Hey, Kagome!" said the man cheerfully.

"Miroku! Sango! You're back!" exclaimed Shippo.

"We just got back," replied Sango.

"That sure took you a while," said Inuyasha, annoyed.

"Don't say that, Inuyasha. We went through a lot, too," said the man. Then, he noticed Akiha who was behind Kagome and was peeking her head out. "Hey, who's that?"

"Oh yeah. This girl came from the present, just like me," introduced Kagome.

Akiha stepped out. "Hello. Are these your friends, Kagome?"

"Yes, this is Miroku and Sango. Miroku is a monk that can use the power of the buddist Sutras and Sango is a demon slayer. Like us, they're trying to destroy Naraku."

"I see. Um...my name is Akiha. Nice to meet you."

"It's my pleasure," said Miroku.

"Nice to meet you!" welcomed Sango.

"This kid doesn't look very strong, but she knows how to use the mysterious power of Shikigami. Especially all nine types of the Elemental Shikigami," told Shippo.

"Elemental Shikigami, huh? I heard very few use it because it's such a powerful type, but I never thought I'd see such a young child wield it," said Miroku, impressed. "Then again, I do sense potential in her."

"Oh, I don't know that much," said Akiha. Still, Miroku and Sango were impressed.

Miroku stood in front of Akiha, making her look up. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be the mother of my children?"

"W-what?!" exclaimed Akiha, her face turning red.

"Miroku! She's just a kid!" shouted Sango.

"Yeah! I knew that you're a womanizer, but you had the nerve of asking a young kid out!" agreed Kagome, standing in front of Akiha, protectively.

"I'm actually 13," revealed Akiha, face still red.

"Don't take him seriously," said Shippo. "He says that to all the girls."

"Did you find out where Naraku is?" asked Inuyasha.

"No. Unfortunely, we failed," sighed Miroku.

"Who's Naraku?" asked Akiha.

"Oh yeah, we didn't tell her yet," said Kagome. "Akiha, do you remember the story of the shards of the Shikon Jewel?"

"The thing that makes demons stronger if they use it?"

"Yes, that's right. There's an evil demon named Naraku that can't wait for a chance to get his hands on the Shikon Jewel," explained Kagome.

"He likes to bully and hurt people," continued Shippo. "He's evil."

"I fought him many times, but he always escapes," growled Inuyasha. "He's the most evil demon of them all."

"Oh, I think I understand now."

"Well, we should head out. Who knows where Naraku might have gone," suggested Inuyasha.

"We just got back, and we're off again already?" asked Miroku, sighing. "Busy, busy."

"I know you're both tired. I'm very sorry," apologized Akiha.

"Thank you for being concerned about me. You're very kind," said Miroku kindly.

"I meant both you and Sango-san, Miroku-san" corrected Akiha, hoping Miroku would drop his previous, embarrassing question to her.

"You don't have to be so formal," said Miroku.

"That's right," agreed Sango. "You can just call us by our normal names."

"I know! How about we just take a day off today? Then, we can head out tommorow," suggested Kagome.

"Splendid idea, Kagome! We do deserve the rest after all," agreed Miroku.

"You only want to because you want to hang out with girls," said Inuyasha.

"Why, Inuyasha! I never thought you'd see me that way! I am honestly shocked and hurt!" gasped Miroku sarcastically. "Anyways, I'm going now. Bye!"

"..." Everyone just stood there, sweatdropping.

"Well, I'm going to spent some time with Sango and Akiha," said Kagome cheerfully as she grabbed both their hands. "It's time for some girl time and make-over!"

"H-hold on, Kagome! I didn't agree to this!" sputtered Akiha as she was dragged along.

"What's 'make-over?'" asked Sango, confused.

After going inside Kaede hut, which Kaede was out gathering crops, Kagome replied, "Okay! We'll fix both your hairs up!" replied Kagome happily.

"But, why? What's the whole point in doing this?" asked Sango.

"Just for fun!~"

"Come to think of it, Sango, your hair is really beautiful," commented Akiha.

"Well that was out of the blue," said Sango. "Is it really?"

"Yes, it is! I mean, it's long, but so soft and shiny. I wish I could have beautiful hair like you."

"I see. Thank you."

"Okay! You first, Sango!" said Kagome, coming up behind Sango.

"Huh? What are you doing, Kagome?"

About a few minutes later, Kagome was fixing Sango's long hair into a bun with some pretty accessories she bought from her era. "Akiha, please hand over the mirror," asked Kagome.

"Sure," said Akiha, handing her the held it to her face and saw her own reflection. She looked more beautiful than ever, especially with the colorful accessories on. "Sango, you look more beautiful than ever!"

"Yeah, it looks good! What do yuo think, Sango?" asked Kagome, agreeing with Akiha.

"Um...well...I don't think it really suits me," said Sango, all flustered.

"What are you saying, Sango? Of course it suits you!" disagreed Kagome.

"Sango, you look beautiful! I wish I could grow up to be beautiful like you!" praised Akiha, admiting Sango's beauty.

"Yeah. And when Miroku looks at you, he'll surely fall in love with you!~" teased Kagome.

"W-what are you saying?!" exclaimed Sango, even more red in the face.

"Kagome, may I try doing yours? I may not be as skilled as you, but I can at least try," offered Akiha.

"Huh? Sure, go ahead."

While Akiha was doing her best to make Kagome's hair as beautiful as Sango's, Sango was checking herself out with the mirror, secretly admiring her own beauty and wondering about a certain monk.

"I'm finished. How does it look?" asked Akiha, handing Kagome a mirror. When Kagome looked at her own reflection, her hair was tied in a low ponytail, and there was a star hairpin on her right side of her hair.

"It's not bad actually. Actually, I look really pretty now," commented Kagome.

"Thank you, Kagome," said Akiha happily.

"Now, let me do yours," offered Kagome, turning Akiha around.

"I'll help out too," said Sango, helping out Kagome.

In just a few minutes, they both said together in unison, "It's ready!"

When Akiha saw her own reflection, she saw her hair was a bit wavy, and a cute white flower hairpin was stuck on the left side of her hair. She realized that she was the cutest out the three here. Sure she may not have been the most beautiful, but she sure was cute.

"Kya!~ You are so cute, Akiha!~" squealed Kagome, hugging Akiha from behind.

"Yeah, you look adorable," agreed Sango.

"T-thank you," replied Akiha, embarrassed.

* * *

_Later, with Inuyasha..._

"Inuyasha, can you please help me?" asked Akiha politely to Inuyasha, who was sleeping on top of a tree in the middle of a small forest.

'With what?"

"I'm looking for some herbs that can help us on our journey. I hear they have a peculiar smell, so I was wondering if you can sniff them out."

"Is that right?" questioned Inuyasha before he jumped off the tree and landed in front of her. "What a pain in the butt. Fine, I'll help you."

At least an hour later, the two were still trying to find the herbs Akiha acquired, but there were still so many and so hard to find. "Did you find it yet?" asked Akiha.

"Be patient. I can kinda smell it," said Inuyasha, still trying to sniff around.

Akiha laughed childishly as she watch him try so hard to find the herb. _'Looks like he's serious about this,' _thought Akiha, going back to her search. "Huh? Um...Inuyasha?"

"Don't bother me! I said I'm looking for it!" said Inuyasha, still sniffing the ground like a dog.

'Actually, I found it."

"What?" asked Inuyasha, turning to Akiha.

Akiha picked up several of the herbs and showed them to Inuyasha. "Sorry about that. But thank you for helping me."

"What a waste of time! Well, I'm glad you found it, but it doesn't smell much from here."

"Well, you have to squeeze it to get the smell out," explained Akiha, squeezing the herbs. "See?"

"Let's see-gah!"

Inuyasha stumbled back quickly, holding his nose and to avoid the herbs Akiha found. "What's wrong?" asked Akiha, tilting her head curiously.

"You fool! Get that away from me!" shouted Inuyasha, still not used to the smell which he thought was 'bad.'

"Huh?" Akiha sniffed the herbs. "But they smell so good."

Inuyasha unplugged his nose and looked away. "It doesn't matter. Just take it and go. I need another nap..."

"O-okay then. Have a nice nap, and thank you for helping me again," called Akiha as Inuyasha walked away.

* * *

_Later, with Shippo... _

"Hey Akiha! I'm going to go gather some acorns! Can you help me?" asked Shippo.

"Sure. I have nothing else to do," agreed Akiha.

While in the forest, Shippo gazed away from Akiha, still red in the face. Not only did Akiha wear that cute training, yet light uniform, she also had her hair done by Kagome and Sango and looked even more cuter. Wait, what was he saying?!

"Hey, Shippo," called Akiha, kneeling down in front of him.

"Yeah?"

"You should hold my hand, since we're going together."

The offer made Shippo blush even more furiously. "D-don't be stupid! I don't wanna!" said Shippo, crossing his arms.

"But it's fine. See?"

"No, it's stupid! W-what are you doing?!" asked Shippo as he was being held in the air by Akiha. He started squirming to get free. "Let go! Let go!"

"I know! Up, up, you go!"

Akiha tossed Shippo lightly in the air, making him higher and higher, little by little. "W-what are you d-d-doing?" asked Shippo, being tossed up and down.

"Shippo, you're as light as a doll," commented Akiha happily. "Okay, one more time!"

Akiha tossed Shippo as hard as she could, making Shippo fly into the air as high as he could. "Whoaaaa!"

Akiha caught him on time and sighed in relief before putting him down. "There you go."

Shippo looked a bit disappointed. "What, that's it? Boring."

"Huh? You want to go again? Okay."

"Okay, let's see what you got!" agreed Shippo, as he was about to be tossed in the air once again.

So, for a few more minutes, they played this little game of theirs, completely forgetting about collecting acorns.

* * *

_Later, with Miroku... _

"Ah, Akiha!" called Miroku to Akiha, who was looking up at the sky, admiring the view. "It's such good weather. Why don't we go for a walk?"

"Okay, Miroku," agreed Akiha.

While walking, Miroku and Akiha decided to chat with each other. "So Akiha, like Kagome, you live in a different era."

"Hmm? Oh, yes."

"I can't imagine what it's like to travel through time," admitted Miroku. "I remember a time when I missed my home and had no one to rely on."

"Oh...I'm sorry for bringing up such painful memories," apologized Akiha, bowing her head.

"No, no. It's alright. Don't be sad. If you want to cry, you can cry on my shoulder," offered Miroku with a strange, happy look on his face.

"Um...I don't really understand what you're saying, but I'm fine. Thank you, though," said Akiha. "Oh, and Miroku? I'm...still uneased at the first question you asked me when we first met. Are you really as Sango told me about you? Are you really a man plagued with lecherous thoughts?"

Miroku just smiled at her while golden auras of light surrounded the area. "Now, does this look like the face of a man plagued with lecherous thoughts?"

Akiha sweatdropped. _'...I think that just answered my question.'_

* * *

_Later... _

"Hmm? What's that?" wondered Akiha as she wandered around in the small woods. She heard a soft meow sound and pushed the bushes aside to find a cute looking cat wandering around like she was.

"Oh, she's so cute!" squealed Akiha. She walked towards the small cat, but the cat stepped back, as if it was afraid. Then, it stepped forward a little, and allowed Akiha to pet her.

"Kirara! Where are you?" called out Sango, appearing from the trees. She spotted Akiha petting the small cat. "Oh! Akiha! And Kirara too!"

"Kirara? Is she yours?" asked Akiha, pointing to the cat called Kirara.

"Yeah, Kirara is family to me," replied Sango, scooping up Kirara in her arms.

"Oh, I see. Can I pet her?"

"Sure."

Akiha walked over to Sango and gently ruffled Kirara's head, making her purr. "I think she likes it."

"Yeah, I think she likes you already," agreed Sango.

* * *

_Later, with Kagome... _

While taking a walk around the village, Akiha noticed Kagome pacing back and forth in front of Kaede's hut. "Kagome? What's wrong?" asked Akiha.

"Well, no one's been eating well lately," explained Kagome. "So I was thinking I could make a good meal."

_'Kagome's always thinking about everybody. She's truly a kind person,' _thought Akiha, admiring Kagome even more. "So, what do you want to cook?"

"Well, I can't cook anything too fancy. Can you go get some potatoes and onions from the garden? I'll get things ready while you do that."

"Okay," agreed Akiha before running to the garden. When she entered the hut after collecting the vegetables Kagome needed, Akiha called, "Kagome, here's the onions and potatoes. I found some carrots too, just in case."

"Perfect! Do you think you could help me out a little bit?" asked Kagome.

"Yes, I can." Akiha then noticed Kagome laying out small boxes, one for each of their members. "Oh! You're making a bento box!"

"Yes, I think we're going to be traveling pretty far tommorow. How about you peel the potatoes?"

"Okay." While Kagome was boiling up something, and Akiha was peeling the potatoes, Akiha glanced at Kagome cooking skillfully and thought, _'Kagome is really good at cooking! It's so great she's good at it. We're so lucky!' _

"Ow!" cried Akiha, cutting her finger with the knife she used to peel the potatoes.

"Oh, are you okay?" asked Kagome, rushing to her side. "Huh, there aren't that many potatoes left."

"Yeah, I'm pretty bad at this," said Akiha as Kagome wrapped a bandage around her cut. "My grandma does all the cooking, but I don't know cooking that well."

"Don't worry! If you take more cooking lessons, you should be able to get better."

"Thanks, Kagome."

With that said, both girls spent the rest of the day cooking bento boxes together, talking with each other and laughing as they cooked.

* * *

**Hope: Well, that's it for the interval events for today! Please, read and review!**


	5. Haunted Mansion

**Hope: Alright, time for more Inuyasha show time!**

**Inuyasha: When are we getting to the show?**

**Hope: In a couple chapters! I need to get things prepared. For now, Sango, please do the disclaimer.**

**Sango: Mage of Hope doesn't own Inuyasha, only the OCs. **

* * *

"Take this!" shouted Inuyasha, slicing up a demon in half. "Huh, one down, and...a couple more to go!"

"Aaaaaahhhh!" screamed Shippo, running away from some bigger demons. He turned around, and got out a toy spinning toy from his shirt. "Here goes! Fox Magic Spinning Top!"

Shippo threw the toy as hard as he could towards one of the bigger enemies, and suddenly, the spinning top grew enlarged and crushed the demon as the weight crushed him, thus defeating him.

"I invoke thee, Shikigami!" chanted Akiha, standing by and sending her ball of Shikigami power towards Sango's Hiraikotsu.

Once feeling the Shikigami power surged in her gigantic boomerang, Sango prepared to throw it. "I'll take it from here! Hiraikotsu!" The magnificent and powerful weapon flew into the air and destroyed all of the demons flying in the air.

Kagome was firing Sacred Arrows towards some of the tougher creatures which had thick hide, killing them instantly. "Now's our chance, Inuyasha! Wind Tunnel!" shouted Miroku, taking off his string of beads wrapped around his right hand, revealing some sort of small black hole that swallowed up all the demons in front of him.

"Say no more!" said Inuyasha, slashing the demons who were coming behind Miroku.

"Now, that's that!" cheered Kagome once they finally destroyed all the demons in their way.

"There's been a lot of demons recently," said Miroku. A few days has past, and a lot of demons has been appearing a lot. Luckily for Inuyasha's group, they now had not only a Shikigami user, but a healer at that, and one that can boost them up. Akiha has gotten to know everyone else, though for some reason, every time they fought a demon, Miroku always seem to pretend to be hurt so that Akiha could heal him, making Sango annoyed and telling Akiha not to heal him.

"Yeah, we'll need to be careful," agreed Sango.

"AAHHHH!" a woman's scream was heard.

"I can hear the voice of a young woman," gasped Miroku.

"Demons! Someone, help us!" screamed another woman.

"What?" wondered Akiha.

"Oh, and she's a beautiful woman," added Miroku.

"You can tell just from the voice?" asked Akiha, impressed.

"There's no mistake! Let's go!"

"He sure reacts quickly when it comes to women," commented Shippo. That comment he made hardly amused Sango, for she looked awfully mad for some reason.

When everyone arrived to where the screams were heard, they saw several demons surrounding three beautiful women, who were stuck in a corner, unable to escape.

"Travelers, please help us!" begged one of the women.

"Of course, I'm here now, so everything's alright," assured Miroku proudly.

'Wow, Miroku! It really is a beautiful women!" said Akiha, impressed.

'Don't waste your time on stupid things!" said Sango, getting her weapon ready. "Let's go!"

Akiha got out the small guide book Kakuju gave her, pointed to Inuyasha, and chanted, "Oh, overflowing blue sky, dash through the heavens! Blue Sky Rush!"

A green bird spirit appeared in front of Akiha, then flew towards Inuyasha, not harming him, but rather, surrounding him in a green aura and making his body light. "Alright! Here I go!' shouted Inuyasha, unsheathing Tessaiga and slicing through some monsters in a blink of an eye.

"Hit the mark!" called Kagome, firing an arrow at the biggest bird demon she's seen in the sky.

"Kirara!" said Sango, turning to her small female cat companion. Flames surrounded Kirara, and in just a second, she transfromed into a huge cat demon, unlike her small cute form. Sango and Akiha climbed onto Kirara and flew into the sky.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango threw her boomerang at all of the aerial demons, killing them all instantly.

Akiha closed her guide book and began praying, forming a sphere of Shikigami. "I invoke thee Shikigami, unleash your power!" She threw the sphere of surging blue power, and directly hit Miroku's shakujo. (His staff he always carries)

"You're through!" said Miroku, charging towards the small demons who were leaping towards the three defencless women, ready to suck their blood. Miroku got their on time and slashed away the demons.

"I'm counting on your help, Shippo!" replied Kagome, ready to aim at the largest demon out of all of the demons here.

"Say no more!" responded Shippo, a small green flare at his palm. He threw the green fire at the tip of Kagome's arrow, right before she fired, fusing Fox Fire with Kagome's Sacred Arrow to finish off the demon.

"Thank you so much!" thanked one of the women to Miroku. "It was because of you that we're saved!"

"Oh, it's nothing," said Miroku, obviously flattered.

"I don;t know what would have become of me if you haven't saved us," said another woman.

"Oh, I know," agreed her friend.

"I'm here now, so everything will be alright," assured Miroku, making everyone annoyed and sweatdrop.

"Not again..." Shippo complained.

"Is Miroku always like this?" asked Akiha.

"Yup," answered Kagome.

"..." Sango just got into a bad mood.

"You're so strong!" complimented on of the women, clunging onto Miroku's arms and making Sango more mad.

"You're such a handsome monk!" Thaat comment made Sango even more mad, and everyone could see it, except for Miroku, who was quite oblivious.

Miroku chuckled. "I never get hurt by small demons."

_'But, what about that time when you let your guard down and I had to heal you?' _thought Akiha.

"Come on, you're such a flirt," complained Sango.

"Either way, it looks like there aren't any more demons. We should go," reminded Inuyasha.

"Wait a minute!" cried one of the women. "I would like to show my appreciation. If you would like, please come to the mansion."

"Thank you very much. We will gladly go with you," thanked Miroku.

"Hey, Miroku. Why do we need to go to some woman's house?" asked Inuyasha, annoyed.

"Yeah, no more distractions," agreed Sango. Actually, she was just more mad at the offer one of the women made, but it wasn't her fault.

"Of course, I'll prepare you a delicious meal," added one of the women. "I'll prepare meat and fish and mountain vegetables."

"Food, huh? Actually, I'm starving," said Inuyasha.

"And we are running out of supplies," added Akiha.

"Maybe it's a good idea to go to the mansion," agreed Kagome.

"It would be scary to part ways here," said Sango. "Especially since there's a lot of demons up ahead."

"Well, they are inviting us, so it would be rude to refuse," said Inuyasha thoughtfully.

"As long as I am here, you don't need to worry about demons," assured Miroku.

* * *

_Later, that night... _

The women and maids have finished making the feast they cooked, and it looked delicious, yet too much. "Wow! That's a lot of food! There's no way I can finish all this," said Kagome.

"Me neither," agreed Akiha.

While everyone else was eating, with Shippo and Inuyasha being the only ones hogging their faces in, Miroku was besides one of the maids, who was kneeling down and blushing.

"You are such a beautiful women," remaked Miroku.

"Oh, Miroku, such sweet words," gasped the maid, blushing even more.

"I never flatter."

"Really?"

"Really."

While Miroku was too busy flirting, Inuyasha, with his mouth full, grumbled, "He really lays it on, doesn't he?" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"A monk, huh?" muttered Sango angrily. In fact, she was so angry, she didn't even notice she broke her chopsticks, freaking out Inuyasha and Shippo.

"Sango, you broke your chopsticks," pointed out Akiha. "Why are you mad?"

"Because of Miroku," answered Kagome, sighing.

"It's such a beautiful night," sighed Miroku, looking out in the night sky.

"Would you like to go outside, Miroku?" asked the maid whom he was flirting with.

"Sure, let's go."

After they left the room and closed the door, Kagome turned to her friend, Sango, who she was worried about. "Hey, Sango. Should we let them go?"

"It doesn't have anything to do with me," said Sango, obviously annoyed, but hurt at the same time.

"Ami I the only one who sees that it does?" Shippo questioned himself.

"But, don't you care about Miroku?" asked Akiha.

"I-I don't care about that monk!"

_'Your face says otherwise,' _everyone thought. _'Poor Sango.' _

"Um...why is Miroku taking this dangerous journey to find Naraku?" asked Akiha. "I mean, I can understand that he wants to meet a bunch of girls, but it really doesn't seem like he's out to save the world."

"I guess I haven't told you about the Wind Tunnel," spoke Kagome.

"Wind Tunnel? What's that?"

"It's some sort of power Miroku has, but it's not exactly a power. More like a curse that was put on his right hand by Naraku."

"Oh...I feel sorry for Miroku," said Akiha, feeling pity for the young monk. "But why did Narakua give him the Wind Tunnel? Doesn't it help him?"

"It's not that simple," said Inuyasha.

"As time grows by, the Wind Tunnel grows," continued Kagome, a sad look on her face. "Eventually, it'll swallow Miroku up."

"Does that mean Miroku will die?" asked Akiha.

"Yes."

"I didn't realize what he's been going through," said Akiha. "...Um...I'm going to be right back."

"Going to the bathroom?" asked Kagome.

"Yes."

As Akiha was about to open the doors out, she heard voices and listened to the frame by closing in with her ear. "Soon."

"Yes, soon. I choose the little girl."

"Then I'll choose the girl with long hair. Hehehehehe..."

Just that creepy laughter and that strange, suspicious conversation was enough to make Akiha sit back down and make her quiet. "Akiha? Are you alright?" asked Kagome.

"...No," admitted Akiha, shaking her head. Then, she noticed something at the corner of a wall, which was covered by a screen. Everyone watched her curiously and confused as she walked over the screen and pushed it away to see what is was. She saw some sort of smeared writing on the wall.

"Um...something's not right about this place," spoke Akiha. "There's something strange written on the wall here."

"Strange? Like what? It's probably some dirt of something," said Shippo, shrugging his shoulders.

"Actually, it's kinda spooky," said Akiha, nervously.

"What are you so scared of, scaredy cat?" teased Inuyasha, coming towards Akiha. He kneeled down, and sniffed the area Akiha thought suspicious. Then, he had a grave look on his face. "Something's weird. This is human blood."

"Then, that means-!" gasped Akiha, more frightened.

"Hold on. Let's not jump to conclusions," said Kagome, trying to calm Akiha down. "But there might be something going on in this mansion."

"I'm getting worried about the monk," admitted Sango, seriously.

"Yeah, let's go check on him," suggested Shippo.

When all of them got up and opened the frame doors, they saw two maids standing by. "Where are you going? We're in the middle of a party," said one of them.

"I need to use the bathroom," said Akiha a bit too quickly.

"Yes, I suddenly need to go too," said Kagome.

"You should go after the party," suggested one of the maids.

"Use the bathroom after the party? Why?" asked Sango.

"Yes. Please just go back to the room," ordered the maid.

"Something's definitely strange," said Shippo nervously.

"They're suspicious," one of the maids replied.

"Until the master gets the monk's liver, don't let them escape the room," ordered the other maid.

"Okay. Kill...KILL!" The two maids then transformed into demons who has no lower body, but long hair and just a face.

"They've transformed!" exclaimed Shippo, now freaking out.

"No, this is their true form," corrected Inuyasha, unsheathing Tessaiga. "They won't get us that easily."

"Oh no! I put my bow and arrows in a different room!" gasped Kagome.

"My weapons too!" said Sango.

"Gah! You two are useless! I'll take care of this!" scoffed Inuyasha. "Here I go! Haaaaaaa!"

While Inuyasha fought off the first female demon, Akiha and Shippo decided to fight the second demon. "Shippo! Please distract this one while I focus on a spell!" ordered Akiha.

"Gotcha!" agreed Shippo, getting out firecrackers. "Fire Bombs!" He threw them at the demon he was fighting, and the firecrackers exploded. It may not have injured the demon, but it caused a small distraction and the demon couldn't see clearly.

"Oh, overflowing blue sky, howl your raging wind! Blue Sky Turbulence!"

The spirit of the green bird flew towards the blinded demon and drove her up to the wall with a single strong gust of wind. Inuyasha took her out with one swing on his sword, finishing off the demons for now.

"So there are demons here!" said Kagome.

"Here, Kagome," shouted Sango, tossing Kagome her bow and arrows as she gathered her own weapons. "Now, we're all set."

"Great! Let's hurry and get Miroku out of here before he becomes dinner for the demons," suggested Inuyasha.

As they were wandering around the mansion, searching for Miroku and ready for any demon ambushes, Inuyasha stopped his group with one arm. 'I see demons," he growled.

As they hid to avoid being caught, they saw countless demons nearby, all gathered around. They looked hungry by the looks on their faces and were talking nonstop with each other about something.

"There are so many demons," said Akiha.

"And they're even having a party!" added Shippo.

"We're going to be able to eat some female flesh soon!" one of them cheered.

"Young girls' flesh! Young girls' flesh!" all of them cried out.

"Youn girls? Are they talking about us?" wondered Kagome, disgusted.

"It looks like there's something on the other side of those demons," said Sango.

"I don't think we can get there at all," said Kagome.

"We gotta find a way to get them away from there. Like, a bait or something," said Inuyasha. He then turned to Shippo.

Shippo, realizing that Inuyasha was grinning at him mischeviously, cried, "N-no way are you using me as bait!"

"Inuyasha! We're not using anyone as bait!" scolded Kagome.

"Hmm? I hear voices," one of them said.

"Let's get out of here first, then form a plan," hissed Sango. They all ran as quietly and quickly as they could, soon entering a small room which happened to be the supplies room before closing the door.

"...I think they're gone," said Kagome.

"Damn it! Why do I have to run? I could taken care of those demons easily with my Wind Scar!" complained Inuyasha.

"There were too many to handle," reminded Kagome.

"If only we had some sort of bait, like some sake or something. I heard demons love sake," revealed Sango.

"Um...is this sake? It smells weird," said Akiha, pointing to a small barrel of sake which said, **Ayakashi Spring Sake. **

"Perfect! I heard this sake is the demon's favorite!" said Sango. They carried the barrel in front of the hallway that lead to outside, and laid it there for bait while they hid.

Then, they heard a demon cry, "Huh? I smell sake! And it's Ayakashi Spring Sake! I'm going to get some!"

"Looks like it's working!" said Shippo.

"Here they come. Get ready," warned Sango, ready to fling her Hiraikotsu at the demons. Inuyasha readied his sword, Akiha prepared for a spell, Kagome aimed her arrow, Kiara was ready to transform, and Shippo already had a small flare in his hands.

"Now!" shouted Inuyasha. All at once, the six of them attacked at once, completely defeated the demons and leaving very small traces of them.

"...I think that was overkill," spoke up Akiha.

"Yeah, maybe we shouldn't have attacked at the same time," agreed Shippo.

"I smell some more coming! Stay sharp!" warned Inuyasha.

So, it went on. Whenever they hid, they waited for the next demon to come, then when they came, they could strike out to attack. Inuyasha and the others didn't run out of breath because they had plenty of time to rest.

"I think that's the last of them," said Shippo.

"Yeah, I don't smell any more demons coming this way," said Inuyasha. 'Even if there were still more, I'd finish them off."

"Let's just hurry and get Miroku!" Sango reminded, sounding desperate.

They wandered back where the demons were all gathered and found not once trace of them were there, so they already took out all of the demon guards. Then, they heard voices, including Miroku's voice.

"It really is a nice night." Everyone stopped and realized Miroku was in the other room.

"Please, I'm so lonely. Comfort me?" begged the maid that took Miroku away.

"Of course, miss."

"That dirty monk!" barked Sango, angrily as her face turned red.

"Wait, Sango!" called Shippo. However, Sango didn't listen to him and stomped into the room where Miroku and the maid were in.

"Well, we might as well go in as well," suggested Inuyasha. When they got inside the room, they saw Miroku on his knees, standing over the maid, and a very angry-looking Sango.

"You dirty monk! What are you doing here?!" Sanog huffed angrily.

"Wait, Sango! Something's not right!" cried out Akiha.

"Huh? Why are you here? Where are the guards?" asked the maid, confused.

"If you're talking about those demon guards, then we took care of them already," said Inuyasha confidently.

"Why, you!" The maid then transformed into a demon with no body except for a face and long hair, similar to the female demon maids they fought before.

"Miroku!" cried Sango. She rushed to his side, but she was knocked back by some unknown force.

"Sango! Are you alright?" asked Akiha, kneeling down to help her.

"You're wasting your time trying to save the monk," replied the demon. "He's in a trance right now. You can't do anything because this place is protected by a barrier."

"Miroku! Wake up! Wake up!" shouted Sango.

"I'll destroy the barrier!" declared Inuyasha, pointing to the crystal at the corner of the room.

Just before he could do so, Kagome stopped him. "No, Inuyasha! If you break the barrier, it could endanger Miroku!"

"Damn it!" cursed Inuyasha.

"Hahahaha! You humans make me laugh!" laughed the demon. "You can watch as I eat the monk's liver!"

"It's not that easy!" said Miroku. He got up quickly, and ran over to the crystal, then fling his shakujo at the crystal, destroying it and shattering the barrier.

"What?! Weren't you in a trance?!" questioned the demon, shocked that Miroku was perfectly unharmed.

"Too bad," said Miroku.

"If there's no barrier, then we've got the upper hand! Everyone, let's attack!" ordered Inuyasha.

The demon then summoned two more demons to aid by her side. Suddenly, Akiha, Shippo, and Kirara were lifted in the air by the demon's hair and couldn't move much, making them unable to use their magic.

"Aaaahhhh! What is this?!" cried out Shippo.

"Since I've seen your skills, I cannot let you use them," replied the demon tangling the three.

"Damn! Without them, we can't get healed or have any bait!" grumbled Inuyasha. Sango was taking care of the second demon, while Miroku was dealing with the third.

"I'll take care of this!" declared Kagome, pointing her arrow at the hair before firing. The Sacred Arrow sliced through the hair tangling Akiha, Shippo, and Kirara and released them, making them fall to the ground.

"Damn you!" cursed the demon, using her hair to target Kagome.

Inuyasha, who was helping Miroku out, saw Kagome about to be struck by the hair and rushed towards, yelling, "Kagome!"

Akiha got up and scrambled towards Kagome's side, stumbling along the way. She got out her guide book and quickly chanted as fast as she could, "Oh, brightly shining light, show your wrath! Photon of Light!"

A ball of light formed from Akiha's hand and exploded when the hair made contact, making the demon screech in pain.

"You're dead!" shouted Inuyasha, charging towards the demon who dared attacked Kagome. The demon screamed as she was being slashed and sliced by Inuyasha before finally disappearing.

"Now's our chance, Shippo!" Miroku cried out to Shippo, who glanced back at him.

"Right!" Shippo said, nodding his head. Miroku got out some sutras from his robes, before firing them at the demon he was currently fighting with. Shippo helped him out by throwing firecrackers at the same opponent.

However, that wasn't enough to destroy the demon, as it reappeared from the smoke and charged towards them without fail. Miroku and Shippo were completely off guard and couldn't defend themselves after a surprise attack like this.

**SWOOSH! **An arrow flew past their heads and hit the demon in the head directly, killing it instantly. Miroku and Shippo turned around to see that Kagome had fired that arrow. Kagome waved back to them happily while the two boys nervously smiled back and waved.

_'That arrow almost hit us!' _both thought, sweating like crazy.

"Hiraikotsu!" cried Sango, throwing her weapon at the last demon she was fighting. Everyone but the demon ducked to the ground to avoid the boomerang and saw the demon had been sliced in half. With the last demon gone, there was no more demons to fight in the mansion.

"That demon was a challenge because of her ability to use the barrier," said Miroku,getting up and wiping the dust off his robes. "Because you distracted the demons, I was able to destroy the crystal which was the source of the barrier."

"So, you know all along that the crystal was the source of the barrier?" asked Akiha.

"I really thought you were in a trance," said Sango, walking towards Miroku.

"Were you impressed? Do you love me now?" asked Miroku, slyly. Then, he walked forward and rubbed Sango's...behind, making her all worked up.

"You dirty monk!" yelled Sango. She turned around and slapped him right in that spot, leaving a mark on his cheek.

_'Sango's really scary when she's mad,' _thought Akiha, sweatdropping.

"You don't give up, do you?' asked Inuyasha, annoyed.

"If only he wasn't such a ladies' man," sighed Shippo.

* * *

**Hope: Alright! I'm finally done with this chapter! I hope the fight scenes were good, because it seems like I'm giving the good guys some sort of advantage when I should be giving the villains a bit of an advantage. Anyways, read and review! **

Wind Shikigami: Bird

Blue Sky Rush: Increases a single person's speed for a while.

"Oh, overflowing blue sky, dash through the heavens!"

Blue Sky Turbulence: Basic wind spell that blows a person away.

"Oh, overflowing blue sky, howl your raging wind!"

Light Shikigami: Lion

Photon of Light: Basic light spell that summons a ball of light and anything that comes in contact with it makes it explode.


	6. Training

**Hope: Yay! A brand new chapter! Hooray for me and the reviewers!**

**Shippo: Wow! I'm impressed by your high-speed typing and updating skills! **

**Hope: Oh, I only do this when I have time. Anyways, could you do the disclaimer? I'll give you this bag of candy if you do.**

**Shippo: *takes the bag* Mage of Hope doesn't own Inuyasha only the OCs! *stuffs on candy* **

* * *

"Everyone? I have something to suggest," announced Miroku while they were all traveling down the road one day.

"What is it, Miroku?" asked Kagome.

"Well, I was thinking. If we're to prepare for our next battle with Naraku, then we have to become stronger. So, I suggest we train just for today to get even a bit stronger."

"That's a good idea, Miroku," agreed Akiha.

"Yeah, we haven't exactly trained during our journey much," Sango also agreed.

"I need to work on my archery skills anyways," said Kagome.

"Not me! I'm already strong enough already with Tessaiga at my side," said Inuyasha, being confident in himself.

"But you have to, Inuyasha," protested Miroku, wanting this training day.

"And why should I?"

"Because if you don't, I'll tell them about 'it.'"

"What's 'it?'" asked Inuyasha, confused. Miroku whispered something in his ears, and Inuyasha turned a bit red, then mad. "You wouldn't dare!"

"But I would!~"

"What are you two talking about?" asked Sango.

"Nothing!" both boys said.

* * *

_Flashback, last night... _

_One night, Inuyasha and Shippo were both alone in the largest hot spring pond, wanting to relax his body in the pond before dinner arrived. Miroku was cooking tonight's dinner, and the last time he cooked, his cooking was good, but not as good as Kagome's or Sango's._

_"Ahhhh...it's so warm here," sighed Shippo._

_"That's true," agreed Miroku, entering the warm, misty water. _

_"Miroku? I thought you were cooking dinner," said Inuyasha, surprised to see him. _

_"The soup for tonight will be ready in about half an hour," replied Miroku. "Until then, I thought it would be nice to wash my body in here. I was surprised to see you two here."_

_"Wow! This hot springs is huge!" Kagome's voice was heard._

_"Oh crap, Kagome?!" hissed Inuyasha, surprised to see her. Unfortunely, due to the warm mist in the air, it blocked off his keen smell, so he couldn't tell if Kagome was here or not. He only hoped she wouldn't._

_"It's like a large swimming pool." Now Akiha was here too!_

_"Damnit, it's them! What are they doing here this late?!" hissed Inuyasha._

_"Don't worry. This is simply a misunderstanding. We'll just act like we didn't know they were here," said Shippo._

_"Easy for you to say!" said Inuyasha. "You may be fine since you're a kid, but me and Miroku will be in serious trouble if the girls find us!"_

_"Yes! Both Kagome and Akiha!" cheered Miroku, excited and not realizing how loud his voice was. "This is my lucky ni-ngh!"_

_Quickly, Inuyasha dunks Miroku underwater, and Miroku was trying so hard to get free, that he was making splashing sounds. "Shut up, idiot! They'll hear you!" hissed Inuyasha._

_"Who's that?! Is someone there?!" Kagome called out as Miroku gasped for breath._

_"What's the matter, Kagome? Did you see something?" Now Sango was here too!_

_"S-sango's here too?" gasped Miroku. "Oh no, there's no way she'll consider this as some 'misunderstanding!'"_

_"So what? All we need to do is get out of here, that's all," replied Inuyasha. _

_"This is Sango we're talking about!" Miroku quietly argued. "She has senses like a hawk! If she finds us, she'll...*glups*"_

_"What? She'll what?" asked Shippo._

_"She'll **EXECUTE **us, with, or without her hiraikotsu!" _

_"W-what?!" Now, Shippo was scared. Then, spotting a leaf, he put it over his head and quietly said, "Transform!"_

**_POOF! _**_With a small sound, Shippo transformed into a simple green leaf floating on top of the water. "See ya!" whispered Shippo, floating away._

_"Grr! That little traitor!" said Inuyasha, noting that he should get revenge later._

_"Yeah, I think I heard something. Akiha, could you check over there to the left?" asked Kagome._

_"Um...but...I...okay."_

_Miroku and Inuyasha looked at each other before quietly scrambling to their other left, where no one was there._

_"H-hello?" called out Kagome, which seemed to be up ahead. Both men climbed onto a huge boulder to hide from sight, and luckily, the mist didn't let anyone see from above. "Um...so there's no one there?"_

_Just when Kagome seemed to be getting closer, Inuyasha noticed Miroku's towel is about to fall off. At this rate, it may even fall on top of Kagome, giving away their hiding place._

_Even knowing he might get caught along with Miroku, he still didn't bother fixing Miroku's towel, knowing it might stain his pride. Therefore, he decided to just stand on the boulder, imitate a cat, and risk being caught rather than the other option._

_"Huh? Was that a raccoon?" wondered Kagome._

_'IT'S A CAT, DAMNIT!' Inuyasha wanted to say, but didn't. Miroku noticed his towel about to fall offf, so he quickly fixed it before he and Inuyasha climbed down, and started swimming as quietly as they could out of there._

_"Sorry, it was just my nerves acting up," apologized Kagome as she returned to her group._

_"Is it just me, or is the hot springs kind of...hot? I feel dizzy," admitted Akiha._

_"It seems that you just like wearing a towel even in hot springs, Akiha," said Sango._

_"W-well, of course it is!"_

_"I think we should go," said Kagome. "The heat must be getting to us. Besides, Miroku's cooking something delicious tonight!"_

_"Alright," Sango and Akiha agreed._

_After the girls seem to left, Miroku and Inuyasha were putting on their clothes as fast as they could. "Okay, it looks like they're gone," sighed Inuyasha. _

_"Yes, we would never have survived both Kagome's and Sango's 'execution,'" said Miroku._

_"Alright, listen Miroku," warned Inuyasha, grabbing him by the collar of his robes. "This is our little secret! We have to take it to the grave!"_

_"Exactly what I was thinking," agreed Miroku._

* * *

_End of flashback... _

"Inuyasha, I was wondering if you can help train me, please?" asked Akiha politely.

"Why should I? Why not train yourself?" asked Inuyasha.

"Because you're strong and I don't think I can compare to you. So I was thinking if you could train me."

"Yes, that's an excellent idea!" agreed Miroku.

"Yeah, Inuyasha could teach you how to defend yourself, even without your use of Shikigami," Sango also agreed.

"Fine, but on one condition," said Inuyasha. "I have to train Shippo!"

"Huh? That's sudden," said Kagome, surprised. "Why would you want to train Shippo too?"

"Oh, to get him stronger is all," said Inuyasha, sneaking a mischevious glint in his eyes at Shippo, who shivered at the glint.

"Yes, that's even better!" agreed Miroku, an evil glint in his eyes pointing down at Shippo.

_'O-oh no! It must have been from last night! So, this is their way of payback!' _thought Shippo, suddenly regretting leaving them in the hot springs.

"Okay, kid!" said Inuyasha, turning to Akiha. "And you too, Shippo! The first thing we're going to do is go by the waterfall! Now hurry up and take off your clothes!"

That last sentence earned him 10 "sit, boy."

"Ow! What was that for?" asked Inuyasha, getting up from the ground.

"Inuyasha! You don't just ask a girl to take off her clothes!" shouted Kagome. Miroku and Sango looked annoyed, and Shippo and Akiha both were red-faced.

"I didn't mean, get naked!" argued back Inuyasha. "I mean get into clothes that you want to get wet! Like that thing you wear when you're taking a bath!"

"It's called a swimsuit, moron! Anyways, you should be more specific when you say things like that!"

"Ugh! Whatever!" said Inuyasha. He turned to his two trainees. "Alright, change of plans! Change into your swimsuits!"

"But I don't have one," said Shippo.

"I do, but it's for girls only," said Akiha.

"Anyways, I'm going deep into the forest to train," spoke Sango.

"I'll accompany you," offered Miroku.

"Okay, I guess I'll go too. Inuyasha, be more specific," warned Kagome. "We'll meet here again later for lunch."

"Fine, fine!" agreed Inuyasha.

Later, when Shippo and Akiha were ready for their training, Shippo was completely shirtless, but had his pants on. Akiha just wore a regular green swimsuit and tied her hair back.

"Okay, for your first training, you're to sit in the waterfall and just meditate! Don't stop until I tell you to!" ordered Inuyasha.

"Okay," agreed Akiha.

"Man, what's the whole point in doing this?" wondered Shippo as he and Akiha were walking towards the waterfall.

"Doing this strengthens mind and body, and you have to endure the pain of doing this in order to make this happen," answered Akiha, sitting down on one of the rocks as cold, fresh water pressured down on her body. "I-it's so cold!"

"O-oh! S-s-s-so t-t-t-that's why I-I-I-I-Inuyasha w-w-wanted us t-t-to d-d-do t-this!" said Shippo, shivering.

Meanwhile, while Inuyasha was training with his Tessaiga, he thought, _'Ha! That'll be payment for leaving us, Shippo! Oh, but the fun's just getting started!' _

A while later, Inuyasha came back and called, "Okay! You can stop now!"

"A-a-about t-time!" whined Shippo as he and Akiha both stood up and walked out of the water, shivering like crazy.

After both of them put on their warm clothes, Inuyasha ordered, "Now, run around anywhere until I tell you to stop!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" groaned Shippo. "First the cold waterfall, now this?"

"Oh, shut it! You might get warm if you run around!" scolded Inuyasha.

"Come on, Shippo," assured Akiha. "If we talk while running, it's easy to forget about getting tired. Or so I'm told."

"Okay," agreed Shippo before he and Akiha took off together. While running, Shippo asked Akiha, "Um...do you like candy?"

"A bit. Not too sweet candy though," answered Akiha.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" gasped Shippo, still running.

"I don't know really. I'm usually quiet all the time."

"That's fine, don't worry about it! Hey, wanna see some of my tricks later? I could show you!"

"Sure, I'd like to see them," agreed Akiha.

"I'll tell you about my new moves then!" said Shippo. "First, there's my Spinning Top! It may look like a toy, but when I throw it at the enemy, it'll become bigger and bigger! Though, it's not that strong. Then there's..."

* * *

_Meanwhile, with Sango and Miroku... _

"Hiraikotsu!" yelled Sango, throwing her boomerang, bringing down several trees down the ground. The boomerang returned to its owner easily before being placed down on the ground. As Sango wiped the sweat off her face, she examined the area of fallen trees. "Oops, maybe I went a bit overboard there."

"Sango!" called out Miroku, coming out from some trees that weren't taken down. "Why don't you take a break? There's a spring nearby that has some refreshing cool water."

"Sure," agreed Sango, following Miroku.

While taking a break and drinking water from the spring, Miroku asked, "Isn't it such a wonderful day, Sango?"

"Yes, it is," said Sango. "I'm just worried about one thing."

"What's that?"

"It's just...you know, I can't get Kohaku out of my head," admitted Sango, her eyes full of sorrow and pain. "Naraku has him under his control, I know that. But...I still think of him, even now, and I can't help but feel like I abandon him, even though I never did."

"Don't say that, Sango," said Miroku. "If it helps, how about I say that I'll always be by your side, no matter what choices you make."

"Really?" wondered Sango, her cheeks a bit pink.

"Really."

"You're not just trying to flirt with me, right?"

"Why, I would never in this emotional moment! It would break my heart to do such a thing!" gasped Miroku, acting like he was hurt by her words.

That caused Sango to laugh. "Yeah, you're right. But I'm surprised. You didn't even try to do something odd to me like usual. Wait a minute...why are you that close to me?"

Miroku's right hand groping Sango's butt answered her question.

Sango shrieked. Miroku's punishment? A slap to the face.

Oh boy, Miroku will never learn.

* * *

_Back with Akiha and Shippo... _

"...And then I was like, 'Pow! Hahaha! You can never defeat me, evil demon!'" cried out Shippo, telling Akiha another one of his stories as they were running in the woods.

"Huh? Did I just hear a loud slap just now?" wondered Akiha.

"It's probably nothing," said Shippo. "Whoa!" Both of them stopped in front of a huge boulder that was in their way.

"Hold on, Shippo," panted Akiha, tired from her long run. She managed to get the strength to get her guide book out to cast a Shikigami spell. "I'll take care of this boulder."

"No!" said Shippo, standing in front of Akiha boldly. "I'll take care of this boulder! This'll be a piece of cake!"

"Okay," said Akiha, stepping back to give Shippo some room.

"Here goes! Fox Fire!" Shippo threw some green fire at the boulder, but it had absolutely no effect whatsoever.

"Um...Shippo? Fire doesn't work against rocks," reminded Akiha.

"Oh, right! I knew that! I...uh...just wanted to test this rock out!" said Shippo, blushing. "Okay then! This boulder won't get in my way after this move! Fox Magic Spinning Top!"

Shippo threw his spinning top toy up above the boulder, which grew bigger and bigger. However, the weight of it didn't cause the boulder to break. It only made it dig deeped into the ground.

"Darn! Okay! Take this! Firebombs!" Shippo threw firecrackers at the boulder as hard as he could, but not even his firecrackers could do much. They did charred the boulder by a little though.

"Wait, wait! I'm not done!" said Shippo, turning to Akiha who was sitting patiently and taking a break.

"Um...okay," said Akiha, nodding her head. She thought, _'Shippo's trying so hard to break this boulder for me. I feel kinda bad. Maybe I should help him out. No, that would hurt his pride. I guess I should wait until Inuyasha or the others come along.'_

* * *

_Meanwhile, with Inuyasha and Kagome... _

"Okay, just a bit of spices and this and that," muttered Kagome as she was cooking today's lunch. About half an hour ago, she decided to stop her archery practice and cook lunch, since everyone else might be tired from training later.

"Hey Kagome, whatcha cooking?" asked Inuyasha, jumping down from a tree.

"AAAAHHHHHH! DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" screamed Kagome. "And for your information, I'm cooking lunch! Do me the trouble and get everyone, alright?"

"Jeez, she's as bossy as ever," muttered Inuyasha to himself. Then, he noticed a small cut on Kagome's finger. "Hey, Kagome. You have some cut on your finger."

Kagome noticed and glanced at her hand. "Oh, you're right. It's probably from training, so don't worry."

Inuyasha walked towards her. "Oh, come on! You can't okay with a cut like that!" He then took her hand, and licked the cut.

"KYAAAA! W-what are you doing?!" squealed Kagome, a bit red in the face as she took her hand away from Inuyasha's hands, forcing him to bite his own tongue.

"Ow! I was just helping! I always lick my own wounds!" argued Inuyasha.

"Well, I don't! Gosh, you're such a dog, Inuyasha!"

"What do you say, you little wench?!"

"That's it! Sit, boy!"

"GAH!"

"That's what you get! Now, hurry up and get the others for lunch!" shouted Kagome.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

With an 'Hmph!' from both of them, they went on their separate ways. _'That lousy, idiotic Inuyasha! How could he do that to me? Ew, there's even some saliva in it!' _thought Kagome, disgusted when she saw her finger, all wet with Inuyasha' saliva.

Inuyasha, who was leaping from tree to tree, thought, _'Why that little-! Someday, I'm gonna trick her into getting these stupid beads off! Someday!'_

* * *

_Back with Akiha and Shippo... _

"Ghhhh! Haaaaa!" yelled out Shippo, trying to push the same exact boulder out of the way with his puny, small body. Akiha was just watching him, looking a bit bored.

_'I do want to help, but Shippo's trying so hard,' _thought Akiha.

"Hey!" shouted Inuyasha, jumping down to the ground from a tree.

"Aaah! Inuyasha!" cried out Shippo, surpised to see him.

"What are you two doing?" asked Inuyasha.

"We were-well, Shippo was trying to push this boulder away," explained Akiha, pointing to the boulder in front of Shippo.

"Why didn't you just use one of your spells?" scolded Inuyasha, noticing that Akiha had her guide book with her.

"W-well, I...I didn't-"

"Hey! Don't shout at Akiha! If you want to shout at someone, shout at me!" shouted Shippo, defending Akiha.

"Okay then, I'll shout at you," agreed Inuyasha, turning around to face Shippo. He walked over and picked him up by the collar. "Why the hell are you here instead of running?!"

"Because this boulder was in the way!" said Shippo. "And don't try to blame Akiha for this, I'm the one who suggested that I break the boulder!"

"Feh! That's easier said than done!" scoffed Inuyasha, dropped Shippo and going towards the boulder. "Iron Reaper Soul Stealer!"

**SLASH! **In one slash, Inuyasha sliced the boulder easily with his sharp claws. "There, now let's go," said Inuyasha.

"Huh?" wondered Shippo.

"Are you guys gonna get on my back or what? Unless you want to walk back."

"Shippo, let's take this chance. My legs are tired from running, and I know yours are too," suggested Akiha.

"Okay," Shippo agreed. When he and Akiha climbed onto Inuyasha's back, he took off back to the campsite. As they were going back, Shippo felt a bit too close to Akiha and blushed at the thought. In fact, he was so close, he even smelled the scent of her hair.

_'She smells like flowers,' _Shippo thought, blushing even more.

"Did you say something, Shippo?" asked Akiha, turning her head at him.

"Huh? N-nothing!" replied Shippo.

When they arrived back to the campsite, it seems Sango and Miroku had walked all the way from the forest and back into the campsite, and Kagome had alsready prepared lunch.

"Oh, Inuyasha! Akiha and Shippo too! Come join us!" exclaimed Miroku.

"So, what kind of training did you guys do?" Sango asked.

"Inuyasha had us meditate in a waterfall, then have us run until he told us to stop," answered Akiha.

"Yeah, and you two are going to keep running even after lunch."

"What?! Inuyasha!" shouted Kagome. "Haven't they trained enough for today?"

"Nah! I saw them take a break in the forest!"

"That's because there was a boulder in the way, you idiot!" shouted Shippo.

"Well, why didn't you let the kid use her Shikigami power?" argued Inuyasha.

"Because I told her not too! And don't call her 'kid!' Her name's Akiha!"

"I can call her whatever I want! And it was a waste of time for you to try moving the rock by yourself!"

_'Wait, could it be that Shippo likes...?' _Kagome, Sango, and Miroku all wondered.

After lunch, everyone went to go train again. Inuyasha instructed both Akiha ands Shippo, "Okay, you two! You two are gonna keep running until I tell you to stop! And if there's any boulders, let the kid handle it!"

"Hey! Don't call her 'kid!'" defended Shippo.

"Ugh! You're so annoying!" shouted Inuyasha, smashing his fist on Shippo's head.

"I-Inuyasha! Don't be so hard on him!" said Akiha, standing in front of the fallen Shippo.

"Feh, whatever. Just destroy any boulders in your way, alright?" questioned Inuyasha.

"Okay," said Akiha, taking Shippo before running off.

About a few hours later, while in the middle of a conversation, Akiha got out a pink lollipop from her pocket. "Hey Shippo, I have some sweet right here. Do you want it?"

"Huh?" Shippo screeched to a stop. "No, no thanks."

'Why? You always like sweets," questioned Akiha, kneeling down to Shippo.

"Aren't they the same sweets that Kagome had?" asked Shippo.

"Yes. Look, they're very good! See?"

"N-no. I don't want any."

"Why?"

"Only little kids eat that kind of thing," answered Shippo, turning around and crossing his arms to avoid the urge inside of him. "And I'm not a little kid anymore."

_'It's bovious he wants it,' _thought Akiha. "Mmm! Smells good! Looks tasty too!"

"I said, I'm not eating it!" declared Shippo, being stubborn again.

"Well, I don't want to waste it, so I'm going to eat it," said Akiha, pretending to about to eat the lollipop.

In one swoosh, Shippo swiped it from her hands. _'He took it,' _thought Akiha, secretly happy.

"I'll just um...hold onto it!" said Shippo, making an excuse. "I won't eat it! It's too tempting! So, I'll throw it away!"

"Okay, whatever you say," said Akiha before she continued to run.

"I said I'm not eating it!" called out Shippo despite the fact that the lollipop was in his mouth already.

* * *

_Later, that night... _

Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Kirara, and Sango all gathered around the fire that night, cooking dinner after their training. Suddenly, Kagome looked around and questioned, "Hey, where are Shippo and Akiha?"

Everyone looked up in surprised. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen them since lunch together," said Sango.

Miroku's expression lightened up. "Oh? Kagome, how old is Akiha exactly?"

"Huh? Thirteen, why?"

"Hmm...yes, yes...Shippo and Akiha...all alone together...somewhere..."

Seeing Miroku's devious look on his face, Kagome was shocked. "Miroku! You can't seriously mean that! I mean, Shippo's just like, 7 years old or something!"

"What?" asked Inuyasha, oblivious.

"Inuyasha, go and find Akiha and Shippo!" ordered Kagome, her face all red.

"Fine, fine," said Inuyasha, not bothering to question why Kagome's face was red.

Meanwhile, Shippo and Akiha were in the middle of a large forest, gathered near some fire themselves. Akiha, with her knees in front of her, asked, "Shippo, are Inuyasha and the others going to find us soon?"

"Of course they will! Don't worry!" assured Shippo. "Hey, Akiha? Why did you join this journey anyways?"

"Well, back in my world, a demon attacked me and Kagome, but Inuyasha arrived in time to kill it. But, I didn't want any harm done to my grandma or Kagome's family, so I left. Now, I have more reasons, which are to stop Naraku, of course. But, what about you, Shippo?"

Shippo looked a bit uneased. "Well...my father was killed by these two brothers called the Thunder Brothers. Then, Inuyasha came by and killed them. After that, I wanted to go with him and Kagome. Now, I want to stop Narakua too from bullying other people. Hey, can I entrust you with a secret?"

"Sure," agreed Akiha, nodding her head.

"Inuyasha may be rude, stupid, an idiot, and a big meanie, but I like him. J-just don't tell anyone I said that, okay? Oh, and I didn't eat that lollipop that you gave me!"

"Um...okay?" _'I didn't even ask about the lollipop.' _

Suddenly, the ground rumbled a bit. Then again. It seems something was getting close, as the trees and bushes were shaking over and over.

"Careful! I think something big is coming!" warned Shippo, standing up.

"Alright," said Akiha, getting out her guide book.

Then, a gigantic green ogre with one eye and a club at his hand stomped into the area and pushed aside anything that was in his way, resulting in trees falling into the ground. He glanced at Shippo and Akiha and laughed.

"Ahahahaha! A little boy and a little girl! I haven't had children for dinner in weeks! You two will be the first!"

"Hey! I'm not a little boy! I'm a respectable adult!" shouted Shippo, feeling insulted. "So take back your words, you overgrown, uptight monster!"

"S-shippo! I don't think it's wise to taunt him like that!" warned Akiha.

"Oh, uptight am I? You'll regret those words, boy!" roared the orge. He charged forward, raising his club as the ground rumbled with every huge step he made.

"Don't worry, Akiha! I'll protect you!" declared Shippo. "Take this!"

Shippo threw something that caused smoke to appear all of a sudden. Out of the smoke, a large white snake flew towards the ogre and started tangling around his neck before violenting attacking him in his vital points.

While the ogre was furiously trying to pry the snake off, Shippo grabbed Akiha's hand and told her, "Come on! Let's get outta here!"

"R-right!" As both of them were running deeper and deeper into the forest, both of their feet started to get tired due to all their running and their strains. Plus, they were running out of breath quickly.

Akiha tripped on a tree root, forcing Shippo to panic. "Akiha! Are you alright?" he asked, trying to help her up.

"I-I'm fine," assured Akiha, despite the fact that her knee was bleeding. "I can still keep going!"

"No way! Your knee's bleeding! Hang on! I'll go get reinforcements!" He got out several mushrooms which were laid out in his arms and threw them in the air. "Weeping Mushrooms!"

The mushrooms were actually weeping outloud, surprising Akiha. "Come on! The others should be able to get here with the Weeping Mushrooms I laid out!" explained SHippo, taking Akiha's hand again.

As they were running again, Shippo would often throw a Weeping Mushroom on the ground to alert the others. However, as they were running, more rumbling came closer and closer to them. They decided to turn around to see what it was, and saw the ogre chasing them!

"Aaaaaahhh! How did he find us?!" screamed Shippo as he and Akiha picked up the pace.

"Ahahaha! Did you seriously think that little illusion of yours would work?!" crackled the ogre as he was running after them. "And those mushrooms were a big help!"

"Aaaaah! Inuyasha! Sango! Kagome! Miroku! Kirara! Where are you?" called Akiha frantically.

"I got this!" replied Shippo. "Transform!" He threw multiple leaves into the air before they all poofed into lots of Shippos. "That should hold him for now! Transform!"

With another poof sound, Shippo transformed into some sort of pink balloon. "Grab on!"

With a nod, Akiha sat on top of the balloon shaped Shippo, and they flew up and up into the air. However, the ogre didn't approve of them, grabbed a tree, and with all his might, threw it towards the two.

"Shippo! Tree coming!" warned Akiha.

"I-I'm sorry for this, Akiha!" apologized Shippo. With another 'poof' sound, Shippo transformed to his regular form, and both of them fell towards the ground, screaming until they landed in some bushes.

"Are you okay, Shippo?" asked Akiha, helping him to his feet.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," said Shippo. They both turned to see the ogre in front of them, his mouth dripping with saliva with the thought of eating them. "Get back, Akiha!"

"No, I'll fight too!" said Akiha. "Don't worry about me! Just focus on the enemy at hand, please!"

"But...alright then!" Shippo finally agreed. "Firebombs!" With a swift motion, he threw firecrackers at the ogre, but it didn't seem to do much effect on him.

"You're mine!" laughed the ogre, reaching out for Shippo.

"Oh, furious howling thunder, electrify all enemies within your wrath! Thunder Bolt!" chanted Akiha, reading an incantation from her guide book. The shape of a yellow wolf shot down from the sky towards the ogre in a flash like a lightning bolt, making the ogre roar in pain.

Akiha fell to her knees, exhausted. Not only was she tired from all the training today, but she used up most of her spiritual power trying to perfect a spell she never used before.

"Akiha! You have to run away, at least!" cried out Shippo, rushing to her side. He searched through his shirt for something. "Let's see...no! I left my horse toy back at camp!"

"It's fine," gasped Akiha, standing up. "I can still fight!"

"But-"

"You'll pay for that!" roared the ogre angrily as he charged again.

"I'll take care of this!" promised Shippo, charging towards the ogre. "If you want to face someone, face me, you nasty ugly ogre!"

Knowing full well that Shippo can't fight against a beast like him, Akiha clasped her hands in a prayer positon, placed all of her power into this next move, and quickly said, "I invoke thee, Shikigami! Unleash your power!"

Shippo felt power surging inside of her, and he ran as fast as he could, knowing Akiha transferred her power to him. With a war cry, he tackled the ogre in the eye as hard as he could.

"GAAAAAAHHH!" screamed the ogree, clutching his eye with both his hands. "YOU LITTLE BRAT!" While he was blinded, the ogre tried to reach for Shippo, but Shippo was easily dodging his movements and managed to climb up to his neck.

"Take this!" shouted Shippo, bitting onto his neck. It didn't cause much harm, and to make matter worse, the ogre can now see again. With one swoop, he grabbed Shippo by the tail, and threw him towards a tree, making him slid down to the ground unconscious.

The ogre turned to Akiha, who couldn't move because she was tired, and paralyzed with fear. The ogre easily grabbed her with one hand, while Akiha screamed and tried to pry off him. Tired of her screams, the ogre squeezed Akiha so tightly, that she fell unconscious as well.

"Heheheheh! I'm going to eat you up, girl! And then that little boy's next!" taunted the ogre gleefully.

Just when he was about to open his mouth, his head came clean off, and his body fell to the ground, headless.

"Whew, made it on time," sighed Inuyasha, who had Tessaiga in his hands. He then unsheathed his sword, grabbed Akiha and Shippo, and leaped tree to tree back to the campsite.

* * *

_The next day... _

Shippo yawned as he woke up. When his vision cleared, he saw something silver and long and realized he was sleeping on top of Inuyasha's head. "H-huh? Why am I...?"

Inuyasha, noticing the foc demon was awake, replied, "Oh, you're awake. Finally. I was getting tired of carry the both of you."

"The both of what...?" questioned Shippo. He got off of Inuyasha to see what he was talking about, and saw Inuyasha carrying Akiha piggy-back style. "Hey! What's going on?"

"Well, Inuyasha found you two unconscious and about to be eaten by a demon," explained Miroku. "He saved you both, and this morning, since we couldn't wake you two up, Inuyasha volunteered to carry you two as atonement for training you two harrd yesterday."

"Oh stop lying, Miroku!" shouted Inuyasha. "It's true that I saved them from that demon, but I never volunteered for anything! In fact, you guys forced me to!"

"Wait, you stopped the demon?" asked Shippo. "That's not fair! I wanted to kill that demon!"

"How? I saw the whole thing. Akiha was the only one who dealted more damage to that demon that you, Shippo!"

"Oh, shut up! If you were there, then you should have helped out more! I didn't see you helping! Oh, I see! You were too scared, weren't you?"

"Why you little...!"

While Shippo and Inuyasha were arguing, the other went on ahead, ignoring whatever Inuyasha and Shippo were saying. Kagome couldn't say 'sit, boy,' due to Inuyasha carrying Akiha, but she, Miroku, and Sango knew that Inuyasha lied when he said he didn't volunteer to carry them.

That just means he does have heart.

* * *

**Hope: Alright! This chapter is finished now! If anyone likes to put up ideas, feel free too! **

Thunder Shikigami: Wolf

Thunder Bolt: A basic thnder spell that lets lightning crash down from the skies to an opponent.

"Oh, furious howling thunder, electrify all enemies within your wrath!"


	7. Searching for a weapon

**Hope: Alright! Time for a new chapter!**

**Shippo; You sure are enjoying this story.**

**Hope: Of course! Akiha-chan is my favorite character!**

**Akiha: T-thank ou, Hope-san.**

**Hope: Alright! Now please do the disclaimer!**

**Akiha: Mage of Hope doesn't own Inuyasha, just the OCs characters, like me. **

* * *

"Finally! A nice, relaxing room in the inn!" sighed Kagome, laying down on one of the futons. They've been traveling and walking nonstop except for sleep and rest for a few days, and they finally came across a town. They paid for a room at an inn and were resting in there.

"Everyone, I think we should take the rest of the day off," suggested Miroku.

"Good idea," agreed Kagome. "I do need to work on my archery skills again."

"I'll be in the woods," announced Inuyasha.

"Sango, do you want to help collect acorns with me?" asked Shippo.

"Sure."

"I'll be taking a walk," said Miroku. "Would anyone like to go with me?"

"I guess I'll go," volunteered Akiha.

"Excellent!"

While walking in the deep green lush forest, Akiha, wanting to ask Miroku something, nervously asked, "M-Miroku?"

"What is it?" asked Miroku, turning to the younger girl.

"Um...how should I put this...? I...heard about your secret from the others."

"What secret?"

"The Wind Tunnel that's on your right hand. How it keeps growing bigger and bigger and that eventually, you'll be swallowed up by it," revealed Akiha. "Is it true? I hope it's not."

"No, it's the truth," sighed Miroku. "But nothing of this world is forever. It's the nature of everyone. What you do until the end, that's what matters."

"Miroku, is that really how you feel?" asked Akiha, sadden. "I don't want you to die. I really don't."

Miroku turned around and looked up to see the clear blue sky. "You're very kind, Akiha. To be honest, I am scared of the Wind Tunnel. Truly, I am. It took me a long time to accept that."

"Oh...I'm sorry for bringing that up," apologized Akiha, bowing her head.

"But I think that it is important to feel scared, frightened, and everything your heart feels," continued Miroku.

"Yes," agreed Akiha. She thought sorrowfully, _'I thought Miroku was already enlightened, but he still suffers inside himself.' _

She felt someone pat her head gently, and looked up to see Miroku smiling at her. "Come now, now's not the time to be sadden over silly things! It's such good weather today anyways. Would you like to rest here?"

Akiha, now realizing that Miroku wanted to change the subject, nodded. "Okay."

A few minutes later, the two of them were sitting on the ground, sipping tea that Miroku made. "This tea is so good. Thank you for making this, Miroku," thanked Akiha.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you. If you haven't found those herbs, I could have never completed my secret tea recipe," said Miroku. "Oh! I just remembered that I have some sweet bean buns. Here, you can have one."

"Thank you, Miroku," thanked Akiha before eating hers. "It's so tasty!"

"I took them from the stone statue we just passed," admitted Miroku.

Akiha turned to him, shocked. "Huh?! You can't do that!"

"Giving something to Buddha is the same thing as giving it to me," replied Miroku, speaking words of wisdom. "Rather than letting it rot, it is more beneficial to take them."

"Um...okay," said Akiha before taking another bite of her sweet bun. _'His actions are kind of dubious. If only he didn't have these shortcomings.' _

"By the way, Akiha. I have another matter to discuss with you," said Miroku.

"Yes?"

"Well, later on, we'll be fighting more battles. Everyone else but you, Kagome, and Shippo will be taking the front lines. Kagome and Shippo can defend themselves with their own weapons, but I suggest you get your own weapon. You don't have to attack, but merely defend for yourself."

"I see. So, you're saying that even though I may have Shikigami powers, if an enemy comes too close to me, I may get killed?" asked Akiha.

"Exactly, though, I hope that never happens."

"What weapon do you think I should get, Miroku? I don't really like weapons, or fighting, but if it comes to it, I'll have to defend myself, like you said."

"Hmm...maybe you should try my shakujo first," suggested Miroku, standing up and helping Akiha to his feet. He then gave his shakujo over to Akiha who was surprised by the weight of it.

"Whoa! I thought it would be light, but it's a bit heavy," admitted Akiha, trying to lift up the shakujo.

"Yes, I had trouble with it at first too. Try targeting that tree over there," ordered Miroku, pointing to a nearby, tall clean tree. "I'll examine how you fight with a weapon and then tell you the results."

"Okay," agreed Akiha, grabbing a hold of the shakujo. She charged forward, and used all of her strength to try to smack the tree. Even if the shakujo recoiled back, it didn't matter, since she wasn't trying to cut the tree.

After a while, Miroku called, "Okay, stop!" When Akiha came back, panting for breath, Miroku took the shakujo gently away from her and explained, "You weren't bad for your first try, but I don't think a staff would do you much good. Staffs may look like light weapons, but they do weigh a bit."

"Oh, okay. Then what kind of weapon do you perfer I should use?"

"Whatever suits you best."

"Alright then. I don't know what that is, but thank you, Miroku," thanked Akiha before walking away.

* * *

Later, Sango, who was in her fighting outfit, was in the deep woods, all drenched with sweat under the hot sun. "Hiraikotsu!" she yelled, throwing her large boomerang at the sky as hard as she could. The boomerang grew smaller and smaller as if flew farther into the sky, then grew enlarged until it returned to it's owner's hand. Kirara was nearby, watching her master train as hard as she could.

Suddenly, Kirara heard a twig snap in two with her sharp ears and growled, alerting Sango. Sango turned to the direction where the sound came from and called out, "Who's there?!"

Akiha timidly walked out of a tree she was hiding behind, and Sango sighed in relief before sitting on top of a fallen tree. "Oh, it's just you, Akiha. What are you doing here? I thought you were with Miroku."

"I was finished with my walk with Miroku," replied Akiha. "I'm sorry if I surprised you, Sango. But you were amazing! Do you practice every day?"

Sango, embarrassed by the comment, answered, "Well, yeah I do."

"You're so strong, Sango. Maybe you might be up to Inuyasha's level."

Sango chuckled as she wiped some sweat off herself with a towel. "Thanks, but it's because I practice every day that I'm strong."

"Really?"

"Yes. Unlike Inuyasha, I'm just a regular human without much strength."

"Without much strength? But, your Hiraikotsu must weigh a ton! If that's so, you must really be strong!"

"But that's not why I started practicing," contnued Sango. "In the Demon Slayer village, this is part of every day life. Just like when you go to school and study all that difficult stuff."

"I don't think that's the same," said Akiha. "Oh, and I had an interesting conversation with Miroku. He said that I should try to find a weapon of my suiting, since I can't defend myself during close combat."

"Oh, I see. Then, would you like to try my Hiraikotsu?" offered Sango, handing over her weapon.

"Yes, I'd love to!" said Akiha, grabbing onto one side.

"Here, I'll grab this side, and then I'll let go."

When Sango let go, Akiha was stuck with a large boomerang several times her size stuck in the dirt and in her hands. "Whoa! I-it's so heavy! Aaaah!"

Sango tried to reach out for Akiha desperately, but Akiha had already fallen to the ground with Hiraikotsu on top of her. "Akiha! Are you alright?" asked Sango, lifting up the Hiraikotsu easily and helping up Akiha next.

"Yes. I'm surprised of how heavy it is," admitted Akiha.

"Do you understand now that nothing is easy? Especially getting strong?"

"Yes! From now on, I'm going to try hard so I can be a kind and strong person like you someday, Sango," promised Akiha, determined. "But first, I need a weapon."

"Yes, it's important to think that way," agreed Sango. Kirara then climbed onto Sango's lap, and Sango started petting her. Akiha petted her too, and Kirara purred in response.

* * *

"Haaaaa! Ghhhhh!" grunted Inuyasha, swinging his full grown Tessaiga around. He's been at it for about two hours and hasn't been resting nonstop. Luckily, there was no one around or else he would have sliced them in half. He was trying to find some other new techniques that he probably didn't know that were perhaps stored inside Tessaiga. That, and he was training.

"Inuyasha!" called out Akiha, walking towards him.

"What?" asked Inuyasha, knowing full well Akiha was walking towards him.

"Um...is it okay if I watch you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uh...well..." Akiha kept staring at the sharp blade of Inuyasha's Tessaiga. She felt a bit uneased even by looking at the sharp blade, and felt scared. She was even nervous at its presence, and didn't even notice her hands shaking, except for Inuyasha.

"What are you staring at?" asked Inuyasha, irritated. If she wanted to say something, why wouldn't she just say it? It's not like anything's going to hurt his feelings or anything!

"Um...you see...I uh...yes, it's that," Akiha finally answered, pointing to Inuyasha' Tessaiga.

"This? Oh, what about my Tessaiga?"

"I've always been impressed that you can carry such a heavy sword. Miroku advised me that I should get a weapon for my own sake for defending myself," explained Akiha, still staring at Tessaiga. "So...um..."

Inuyasha held out his sword for her. "Would you like to hold it?"

"Really?" asked Akiha, surprised that Inuyasha accepted her simple request easily. "Is that okay? But-"

"No buts! Just take it!"

"Um...okay..." Akiha reached out to hold the hilt of the sword, but started hesitating due to her seeing the sharp blade. If she touched the blade, even a bit, she thought she might get a cut.

Seeing Akiha take a few steps back out of fear, Inuyasha grew more irritated. "What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm kinda scared of holding such a sharp sword," admitted Akiha.

"Such a baby, hahaha," Inuyasha chuckled to himself.

Akiha, who was embarrassed, said quietly, "Um...I don't think swords are really the kind of weapons I should wield. But thank you for letting me hold your Tessaiga, Inuyasha."

"You didn't even hold it yet!"

"Right, but thank you for suggesting anyways. I'm going to leave you alone now. Bye, Inuyasha."

While watching Akiha walk away into the meadow, Inuyasha sighed out of disappointment and shook his head. Then, he resumed his training by slashing the air with his brute strength, as if wanting to slice the sky apart.

* * *

Once more, Akiha was walking down the fields, searching for Shippo to ask him something. As she crossed over a short wooden bridge, she noticed some brown and furry in the bushes and walked towards it. "Shippo?"

Then, out from the bushes appeared Inuyasha, making Akiha surprised. For an instant, she thought she saw her small fox demon friend in the bushes. "Inuyasha? Wasn't Shippo here just now?"

Inuyasha just laughed. "How was that?"

With a 'poof' sound and after the smoke cleared, Shippo appeared. "I totally tricked you!"

"So it was you? When you transform, even though I know it's you, it's really surprising."

"Of course! Transforming is my favorite magical power!" said Shippo happily. "Transforming seems easy, but it really isn't. There's a lot to it."

"Will you please show me more?" asked Akiha.

"Okay! How's this?" Shippo picked up a leaf and placed it on his head. "Transform!" As soon as the smoke clear, Shippo had transformed into Kagome.

"No matter how much I look at you, you look like Kagome!" said Akiha, applauding at Shippo's performance.

"Okay! There's the next one! Transform!" This time, Shippo transformed into Miroku.

"Wow, it's an exact likeness!"

"Well, it's hard to look like a ladies' man. What do you think?"

"It's amazing!"

"Next one! Transform!" Next, Shippo transformed into Sango. Then Inuyasha again. Then Akiha this time. Soon, Shippo started putting on a show of transformations for Akiha, who was applauding at every perfomance he made. But soon, he became dizzy and tired because he used too much magical power for transforming.

"Shippo? Your face is red," pointed out Akiha, concerned.

"T-trans...form!" For the final time, Shippo transformed into the small pink balloon form.

"Amazing, Shippo! But, you didn't have to try so hard for me," assured Akiha.

"What are you talking about? I wasn't trying at all!"

_'Shippo really is trying all his best. He looks red and tired,' _thought Akiha, seeing through Shippo's lie.

After a few minutes later, Shippo had regained consciousness and his strength. "Shippo? May I ask you something?" asked Akiha.

"What is it?"

"What kinds of weapons do you use in battle?"

"They're not really weapons, but I use tools in battle," answered Shippo. He got out all of his tools and laid them on the ground. "See? Here's some mushrooms, a top, my toy horse, some acorns, leaves, and my toy snake!"

"That's wonderful, Shippo," said Akiha. Then, her expression sadden a bit.

Shippo, seeing this, was troubled. "What's wrong, Akiha?"

"Well, Mirouk told me I might need a weapon to defend myself if I ever got into a situation of close combat," answered Akiha, bringing her knees to her face. "I already spoke to everyone but you and Kagome but I can't seem to figure out what sort of weapon I should chose."

"Oh...sorry that I can't help you out with that," said Shippo. "But, how about a bow and arrow? Sure it might not be for close combat, but at leastit'll keep from enemies coming close, even a little."

"You're right. Thank you, Shippo," thanked Akiha, ruffling Shippo on the head for thanks.

Shippo blushed while rubbing the back of his head sheeplishly. "Oh, it's nothing, really!"

"Well, I'll be going now Shippo. Thanks again!" With that said, Akiha stood up and ran off to find Kagome.

As Shippo watch her run away, Shippo fell on his back and sighed heavenly. "Good luck, Akiha..."

* * *

**SWOOSH! **Kagome fired another arrow at a small target she drew on a tree, hitting the middle of the target perfectly. As she drew another arrow from her pouch and steadied her bow correctly, she heard bushes rustle behind her and turned around, lowering her bow a bit but still keeping it steady just in case.

"Kagome?" called out Akiha, coming from the bushes. Kagome sighed in relief before completely lowering her bow down at her feet.

"Oh, it's just you, Akiha. For a second, I thought a demon or something else was going to come out from behind. So, what do you need?"

"Um...may I try out your bow and arrow?" asked Akiha politely. "I want to see if I can wield it as much as you can."

"It's not that easy to use a bow and arrow," warned Kagome, handing the small girl the bow and arrow. "It's difficult to hit the target, and you have to use a lot of strength to hold a bow and arrow."

"Okay," said Akiha, taking the items and holding them in position. Not realizing how a bit heavy and firm the bow and arrow were, her shoulders were stiff, and her hands were shaking, making the arrow and bow wobbling and unfocused. In fact, she was so like that, she dropped both of them out of exhaustion.

"Careful!" warned Kagome, helping her to her feet.

"I'm sorry," apologized Akiha, getting into position once again after Kagome back away a little.

"The arrow's loose!" said Kagome, giving advice. "And hold your left hand more steady!"

"R-right!" Akiha's body was now shaking due to the strain the position was for her body.

"Hey, don't slacken your arms! Hold it steady!" said Kagome. "Okay...and...fire!"

Akiha felt her fingers let go of the arrow, and she saw the arrow fly, but fall to the ground. Akiha, determined not to give up, tried again only for the same result to come. She sighed before falling to her knees.

"It's no good..not even a bow and arrow will do good," sighed Akiha.

"What's wrong?" asked Kagome, kneeling down to her. After Akiha explained her situation, Kagome nodded, understanding. "I guess I can understand how you feel. I had trouble with the bow at first, but I got used to it. Here, take this."

Akiha held out her hand, and Kagome gave her a few silver coins. "What's this? Money?"

"Yup. I saw a weapon shop in town, so you should be find what kind of weapon you want," explained Kagome.

"Thank you, Kagome," exclaimed Akiha happily. "I have a question. You can sense the Shikon Jewel shards and demonic auras, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't know, but I feel power from the jewel shards. Even if I'm far away, I feel power, always and it's near you. Hey, does that mean I can sense the Jewel shards too?"

"Hmm...I guess so," said Kagome. "But that's probably good. I thought I was the only one who can sense and see them."

"Yeah, I guess so," sighed Akiha. For the next few minutes, the two of them talked about girl things before Akiha left for the weapons shop, and Kagome resumed her training.

* * *

Akiha wnadered around town to find the weapon shop Kagome told her about, until she saw a sign near a shop that said: **Weapon Shop. **Entering the shop, she found a few customers inside as well, examining the weapons and trying them out for themselves.

Careful not to get close to the ones testing out the weapons, Akiha searched in every column in the store and found all sorts of weapons inside, such as daggers, swords, axes, clubs, staffs, anything. But what Akiha was looking for was a light weapon, if possible, the lightest weapon they had in the shop.

As she wandered around the shop, some glimpse caught the corner of her eye, and she looked to where it came from before walking towards there. As her movement became closer and closer, she realized she was walking towards a table of weapons. The weapons on the table were far too big and heavy for her to wield.

Except for one.

Akiha picked up the strange weapon, which held a handle and a rope several meters long with a dagger attached to the end of one rope. She carried it to the counter, where the shopkeeper was waiting for customers.

"Excuse me, sir? What sort of weapon is this?" asked Akiha, handing over the weapon.

The shopkeeper examined it before he answered, "That is called a rope dart, or another word, a rope javelin. It's the most lightest and cheapest, but weakest weapon I have in my shop. The rope dart is not usually used for attacking, but restraining your opponents as well. You can also use it for stuff like reaching far away items or hanging onto a tree. Are you sure you want it?"

"Of course," replied Akiha, happy she may have found the perfect weapon. After she paid for the weapon, she walked out of the store, satisifed. Deciding to test the new weapon out, she entered the woods and found a clearing where there was no one around.

She unreviled the rope and held onto the dagger as she did. When she thought the rope was long enough, she threw the dagger at a tree, but it pathetically missed and landed on the ground without so much as a dent.

"Uh...let me try that again," Akiha muttered to herself, lucky that no one was around to see her. A few minutes later, while trying her very best, she ended up with the same result over and over.

"Well...at least my aim's not that bad," sighed Akiha, deciding to take a small break before continuing. When she turned around, she gasped when she saw a flying demon looking at her hungrily.

"What a tasty looking child!" said the demon, licking his lips out of hunger.

"S-stay back!" stammered Akiha, pointing the dagger at the demon. 'I have a rope dart here, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"Hahahaha! I'd like to see you try!"

Having no other choice, Akiha threw the dagger at the demon, but he easily dodged it. "Oh no! I missed!" gasped Akiha.

"Nice try, girl!" laughed the demon. He then swooped down and opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs and a long tongue. Akiha, who was too terrified to think straight, screamed, crotched down, and covered her head with her arms to endure any pain.

Then, she heard some sounds of chains, and an "Ahhhhh!" from the demon, making her look up to see what was happening. The demon appeared to be struck down and dead, and she saw some sort of small scythe with a chain returned to its owner. Akiha turned to the owner and was surprised at the sight.

In front of her, it was a boy taller than her who had armor similar to Sango's armor, only with green armor instead of pink. He had a chain in one hand, and the other a small scythe. He lowered his weapon and offered a hand out to Akiha.

Akiha took it and stood up. "Thank you for saving me. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay."

"I'm glad. That's a cool looking weapon."

Koha showed his weapon to Akiha and replied, "It's called a Kusarigama."

"Oh, do you think my weapon's similar to yours?" asked Akiha, showing him the rope dart.

Kohaku examined it. "Hmm...kinda. It doesn't have a scythe, but it's similar. If you want, I could show you how to use it like I use the Kusarigama."

"Really? Thank you so much," thanked Akiha. "Um...I didn't catch your name. I'm Akiha."

"I'm Kohaku, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Now, how do you do this exactly?" asked Akiha, handing over her weapon.

Kohaku dropped his Kusarigama on the ground, then told Akiha, "Stand back, please." Akiha did as she was told. Kohaku then began to swing the rope dart in a circular motion above his head, making it look like a circular shield. Then, he threw the rope towards one of the trees, perfectly wrapping it with all of the rope he had in his hands.

"Amazing!" exclaimed Akiha as Kohaku returned her weapon back to her hands.

"Now, you try it."

"Okay." Kohaku stepped back this time as Akiha prepared. Very slowly, she started swinging the rope in a circular motion the same way that Kohaku did, only at her side and not above her head. She was careful not to let the dagger hit her, and if she felt it get close, she immediantly stopped, before starting that position again. Finally, she threw the rope at the tree, only making a scratch at the tree instead of tangling it like Kohaku did.

"Well, at least you made a scratch at it," said Kohaku. "Here, let me show you." He stood behind Akiha, grabbed her wrists gently, and helped swung the rope once more. Akihas face felt warm and hot when she realized how close he was to her, but paid attention to the lesson. Kohaku then pushed Akiha's elbow forward, forcing her to throw the rope and wrap around the tree a little before it slid down.

"T-thank you, Kohaku-san," thanked Akiha, turning to him and bowing her head.

"You don't have to bow to me. And you can just call me Kohaku," assured Kohaku. "I have to go now. I'm busy."

"Okay, take care, Kohaku!" called Akiha, waving to him. _'What a nice guy,' _she thought before turning back and restarting her training.

When it was nightfall, Akiha was sitting on the ground, panting for breath. She looked up to see the tree she used for target practice had many, many scratches from all of her training. She didn't manage to even tie up the tree, except with Kohaku, but that was only one time.

"I guess I'll have to try again tommorow," sighed Akiha, standing up. Then, she sensed something wrong, a bad feeling perhaps in her chest. _'W-what is this? I feel like something awful's going to happen!' _

Then, screams were heard from the town and there seemed to be a lot of loud noises, like stomping. "What's going on?" wondered Akiha, wrapping up her rope dart and then running towards the town. When she got there, she gasped at the sight.

Many large demons have invaded the town, terriorizing the citizens living there. The demons were eating people left from right, and some of the homes were burned down. Some of the men were trying to fend off the demons, but they were having no success, Several people were trying to escape from the demons, but some who were flying in the sky swoop down and grabbed them with their claws.

Akiha, seeing this, decided to take action and got out her guide book before thrusting her arm forward. "Oh, trembling solid earth, rain down your boulders from my path! Earth Cannons!"

A small group of cannons made of solid ground popped up from the ground besides Akiha, and with one wave of her arm, the cannons fired once before disappearing back into the ground. The things the cannons fired were small, hard boulders that struck several flying demons in the air, causing some of them to drop their victims.

"Once more!" cheered Akiha, determined to take on the demons. She saw one nearby that had just grabbed a woman and was about to eat her. Akiha wasn't going to let that happen, and turned to the demon, chanting, "Oh, trembling solid earth, sharpen thy rage! Earth Pillars!"

The demon about to eat the woman roared in pain as sharp, spiked pillars pierced through his body, causing him to drop the woman. Then, a final pillar ran through his throat, finally killing him.

Deciding not to cast a fire spell to avoid more fires, Akiha decided it would be best to cast a water spell to distinguise the fires spreading all over. "Oh, mighty overflowing river, pour down your blessing! Great River Rain!"

Dark gray clouds soon surrounded the night sky, and rain started pouring down dramatically, getting rid of all of the fires within seconds before the rain and clouds faded away. Akiha sighed in relief, knowing at least one problem was solved.

Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind by the back of her collar and was lifted up into the sky by a large bird demon. Akiha started to panic when she saw the ground below her was _far away. _"Let me go!" screamed Akiha, doing her best to break the bird's grip.

"Iron Reaper Soul Stealer!" **SLASH! **Akiha turned just in time to see Inuyasha had slashed open the bird demon. However, it wasn't time to be celebrating just yet, especially since she was falling. Before she could scream out, Inuyasha grabbed her by the back of her shirt collar and landed on the ground safely.

"There you are! We've been looking for you!" said Inuyasha harshly. "Kagome and Shippo are in bad shape, and Miroku and Sango are trying to help the villagers get out safely. Come on!" He grabbed her wrist and leaped off the groundd until they reached Kagome and Shippo hiding behind some bushes to stay out of sight.

"Kagome! Shippo! Are you two alright?" asked Akiha, kneeling down to them.

"Yeah, just a few scratches, not a big deal," assured Shippo, trying to look like he was fine only he was failing.

"Same here," agreed Kagome, clutching onto her arm.

Akiha laid her hands out in front of them and chanted, "Oh, might river blessing, give me your blessing!" Both of them were surrounded by a green aura until it vanished, and so did their wounds.

"Whew! I feel all better!" said Shippo happily.

"Thanks, Akiha," said Kagome.

Then, a huge horde of rhino demons came packing towards their way, looking ficiously angry and hungry at the same time. Inuyasha unsheathed Tessiaga and smirked. "Heh, I'll take care of this! Wind Scar!"

Inuyasha brought down his sword, also bringing a powerful energy wave down towards the horde and killing them all instantly. "Inuyasha, look out!" warned Kagome, pointing to behind Inuyasha.

Inuyasha turned and saw about four gigantic demons coming his way. "Heh, these guys are small fry! Be careful, you three!" With that said, he jumped off the ground and charged towards the first demon he saw and began attacking.

Kagome fired Sacred Arrows to back up Inuyasha, while Akiha and Shippo had to face off the four demon, who had three large tentacles strangely. "Don't worry, Akiha! All we have to do is believe in ourselves!" shouted Shippo, determined to beat the demon, though his legs were shaking.

"Hahahaha! I'd like you see you try!" laughed the demon. He plunged his three tentacles forward towards the fox demon, but Akiha stood in front of him protectively.

"Oh, brightly shining light, come forth, unyielding aegis!" A dome-like shield surrounded Akiha and Shippo, protecting them from the tentacles. The demon got angry and repeatedly kept bashing the shield over and over. Akiha was focusing all her spiritual power onto the shield, and whenever she felt something hit the shield, she would flinch and it felt as if she was taking the damage herself.

Eventually, the shield wore down, and Akiha was out of spiritual power, so she fell to her knees, gasping for breath. "Akiha!" cried out Shippo. He stood in front of her this time, opening his arms wide as if to protect Akiha. "I won't let you hurt her!"

"Hahaha! No matter, you'll join her soon!" laughed the demon.

"Fox Fire!" shouted Shippo, directing aiming his green fire at the demon's face, not really harming him.

"Gah! You stupid fox demon!" screamed the demon, wiping off the fire.

"Multiple!" Shippo threw leaves into the air, and several clones of him surrounded the area. That made the demon even more irritated as he lashed out at the Shippos only to find all of them fake. He then noticed Shippo right above, him, but it was too late.

"Fox Magic Spinning Top!" Shippo threw his toy spinning top at the demon's head until it started growing larger and spinning over and over, making the demon dizzy for a bit.

"Why you!" The demon had enough of Shippo's tricks, so he lunged his sharp tentacles to stab Shippo-

Only to find them all tangled in some sort of tight rope.

Everyone, including Inuyasha and Kagome who had just finished killing the three demons they fought, tried to see who had done it and saw Akiha grabbing onto some rope with a handle with all her might.

"It worked!" said Akiha happily, glad she was finally able to use the rope dart.

"Grrr...! Why you little brat!" The demon pulled back and sent Akiha flying in the air while clunging onto the rope.

"Hiraikotsu!" Suddenly, a large boomerang sliced through the demon's limbs and his entire body before going back to its master's hand, specifically, Sango's. Inuyasha caught both Shippo and Akiha from falling to their deaths and landed on the soft grass.

"Everyone! Are you alright?" asked Miroku as he and Sango got off Kirara and ran towards them.

"Yeah, we're alright!" said Kagome.

As Akiha was untying the rope wrapped around the demon's tentacles, Inuyasha asked curiously, "By the way, what kind of weapon is that?"

"It's called a rope dart, and it's my new weapon," answered Akiha, finally finished.

"So, you finally found a weapon of your suiting?" asked Sango.

"Yes. But we can discuss that later. We should help out the villagers."

"Yes, you're right," agreed Miroku. "I think all of the demons are gone now, since we don't hear anymore screams."

The next day, after every single survivor was mostly healed, the villagers started rebuilding their villagers again and burying the dead. As Inuyasha and his group were traveling down a road, Shippo asked, "Hey, Akiha! Do you mind if you perform that rope dart trick from last night?"

"It's no problem," assured Akiha. She got out her rope dart, twirled it around a bit, then threw it towards a tree, but the dagger at the end stabbed the tree instead of wrapping it up. At least she stabbed the tree instead of denting it.

"Looks like you need more practice," said Sango. "But nice try anyways."

"She should have just wrapped up that tree," scoffed Inuyasha.

"Hey! Don't speak so harshly at Akiha!" defended Shippo.

"Oh yeah? Make me, runt!"

"Ow! Kagome, Inuyasha hit me!"

"Inuyasha, sit!"

"GAH! Why does this always happen to me...?"

* * *

**Hope: This is probably the longest chapter I made in this story. Don't worry though, in just a couple more chapters, the real deal begins! And by that, I mean the anime will begin, starting from episode 69! **

Earth Shikigami: Mole

Earth Cannons: An Earth spell that summons small cannons that fires tough boulders like cannonballs.

"Oh, trembling solid earth, rain down your boulders from my path!"

Earth Pillars: Summons sharp pillars to pierce the enemy.

"Oh, tembling solid earth, sharpen thy rage!"

Water Shikigami: Fish

Great River Rain: Summons rain for a little while.

"Oh, mighty overflowing river, pour down your blessing!"


	8. The beautiful, strong Priestess, Kikyo!

**Hope: I'm a bit tired right now, but I guess I can complete this chapter.**

**Kagome: I wonder what sort of chapter this'll be.**

**Hope: You'll have to see. Right now, do the disclaimer.**

**Kagome: Mage of hope doesn't own Inuyasha, only the OCs. **

* * *

In the middle of the fields near a forest and a small clear river, Inuyasha's group were all gathered there, waiting for lunch to be served. It was Akiha's turn, and her first try in cooking too. Sango and Kagome offered to help, but Akiha replied she would do this on her own.

While the others were talking, sleeping, or playing around, Akiha called, "Lunch!" That got everyone's attention, as Akiha passed the food around, which happened to be curry with rice. The curry was...oddly a bit too brown, and the rice seems a little brown, and burnt.

"Um, can you try it?" asked Akiha shyly.

Inuyasha sniffed it curiously and smelled an unsavory ordor coming from the lunch. But, he mustered up his courage after receiving a glare from Kagome and ate it along with everyone else.

"?!" cried out Inuyasha, spoon still in his hand, frozen. He couldn't even swallow or chew it, and it was too spicy!

"H-how is it?"

"Hmm...it's not that good, but it's not that bad either," commented Kagome, tasting the curry.

"Yeah, not bad for a first attempt," agreed Sango.

"Mmm...a lady's cooking comes from her best talents," said Miroku, speaking wise words once again.

Shippo, not wanting to hurt Akiha's feeling, blurted out, "It's so good!"

"Thank you, everyone," thanked Akiha.

"Inuyasha, say something!" hissed Kagome, elbowing the half-demon.

"Ugh..." groaned Inuyasha, spitting out the food he just ate in his mouth.

"I-Inuyasha! Stop it! Women are sensitive about their feelings!" hissed Miroku.

"But it's disgusting!"

"Inuyasha!"

"...It's alright. I'm well aware that I have poor cooking skills," replied Akiha, looking a bit hurt anyways.

"More like horrible!"

"It's not like any of your meals are better!" pointed out Shippo, recalling the last time Inuyasha cooked. The last time he cooked, well, let's just say that everyone starved for the rest of the day.

"Maybe I should spend more effort into proper cooking," muttered Akiha.

"Yeah, you'd better!" agreed Inuyasha. "Just think of the rest ofd us who have to EAT that slop!"

"Well, I never!" said Sango, standing up as if she was the one insulted.

"Hey, calm down everyone! Since Inuyasha seems so concerned, he'll volunteer as a taste-tester," suggested Kagome.

"Hey, wait a-"

"Okay, I'll expect full cooperation from you, Inuyasha. Thank you," thanked Akiha.

"Keh! Whatever."

After eating Akiha's plain, normal lunch, everyone set out once more until they finally arrived in a peaceful-looking village. Miroku announced, "I'll go rent an inn for us right now so that we can have a goodnight's sleep."

"Yeah, and by that you mean you're going to trick the owner by 'exorcising' the place," mumbled Kagome, annoyed.

"Why, I would never do such a thing! I am a monk of Buddist!" cried out Miroku, pretending to be shocked.

_'Yeah, right,' _everyone thought, more annoyed.

'Alright, while Miroku goes off flirting with other girls-"

"Inuyasha, I am not flirting!"

"-I'm going to take a nap!"

"Well, I'm collecting acorns! Sango, can I borrow Kirara to help me?" asked Shippo to Sango.

"Sure, go ahead," agreed Sango.

"Hey Sango! I think we should go shopping together! We are running out of supplies anyways," offered Kagome, taking her friend's hand.

"Sure. What are you going to do, Akiha?"

"Maybe train in the woods."

"Yeah, you need it," said Inuyasha, placing his hands behind his head casually.

"Inuyasha! That was rude!" scolded Kagome.

'What? It's the truth!"

"No, he's right, Kagome," supported Akiha. "So, we all meet at the inn later tonight, right?"

"Right," everyone agreed before splitting up to do whatever they want in their day off.

As Akiha was training in the nearby woods with her own weapon, the rope dart, and training to raise her spiritual power for her Shikigami spells, she wondered, _'I wonder if I truly am helpful for the others. I do mess up a lot.'_

* * *

_Flashback, yesterday... _

_It was a stormy, rainy day, with thunder rumbling with dark clouds filling the sky.A large group of demons surrounded the area where Inuyasha and the others were in, preparing to attack them all at once. Inuyasha was slicing through the demons with his Tessaiga with Miroku helping him, Kagome was firing Sacred Arrows, and Shippo, Sango, and Akiha were riding onto Kirara, who was flying into the air. _

_"Hiraikotsu!" yelled Sango, throwing her Hiraikotsu as hard as she could towards the aerial demons wandering in the sky. Shippo was using Fox Fire to keep any demons from getting near them in the sky. _

_Miroku couldn't use his Wind Tunnel after discovering that some of the monsters have some nasty poisonous effects. Akiha was taking advantage of the weather by chanting thunder or water spells. _

_"Oh, furious howling thunder, bring thou rage down upon my enemies! Thunder Rampage!" chanting Akiha, raising her arms up in the sky as if calling for something. Some sort of yellow glowing wolf shot out from her palms and in a flash, trotted towards the dark clouds, bringing down several lightning bolts towards many demons, especially the flying ones._

_Some almost hit Inuyasha and Miroku. "Watch it!" warned Inuyasha, shaking a fist towards the young girl._

_"Ah! I'm sorry!"_

_"Akiha! Watch out!" warned Kagome while fending off some demons with her arrows. _

_Akiha turned her head to see a bird demon charging towards her with great speed, and Shippo and Sango were far too busy fighting off the other demons to notice. Akiha tried to dodge and managed to lean back to avoid the sharp jaws of the bird. However, when she did, she slipped and fell off of Kirara._

_"AHHHHHH!" screamed Akiha as she fell. "Oof!" Luckily, Kirara wasn't that far away from the ground, so Akiha was fine._

_"Are you okay?" asked Sango, turning to her friend, worried._

_"Sango! Watch out!" pointed Shippo._

_"Hiraikotsu!" Sango knew it wasn't the time to be worried about her right now, even though it may sound cruel. But she knew that she had to take care of the flying demons first. _

_"Akiha, are you alright?" asked Kagome, kneeling down to Akiha's side._

_"I'm fine, please don't worry," assured Akiha, standing up as quickly as she could. "Oh, elevated green wood, sway these foes from my path! Green Wood Sea!" Multiple giant hands made of wood popped up from the ground and swayed wildly, punching several demons around. Inuyasha and Miroku had to dodge and duck to avoid the punches, but it made it look like they were in a crazy dance._

_Inuyasha leaped from wood to wood until he reached for the sky, then raised his Tessaiga above his head. "Wind Scar!" He brought down his sword, unoleasing a strong energy wave that obliterated countless demons._

_When he jumped down, there were still a few, but bigger demons in the area left. The rest were, well, dead. "Hey, kid! Watch it!" yelled Inuyasha. "You're really pissing me off!"_

_"I-I'm sorry!" Akiha apologized once more, panting heavily. She had used up a large amount of spiritual power to cast Shikigami powers to support her friends and she was exhausted. _

_"Inuyasha! Watch out!" warned Kagome. _

_Inuyasha leaped out of the way to avoid a demon's fist coming his way. "Heh, I'll take you on!" shouted Inuyasha, charging towards the demon that dared to challenge him._

_Miroku got out sutras from the folds of his robes and threw them at some of the few demons. "Sacred Sutras!" _

_When the pieces of ancient paper stuck onto the demons, they roared in pain as its mystic power did its work. Sango decided to use this distraction to finish them off. "Hiraikotsu!"_

_While Akiha was taking a break, and Kagome was firing arrow once more, Akiha was the only one who noticed a large demon creeping up behind them and about to strike Kagome with his sharp claws. _

_"Kagome! Look out!" yelled Akiha, pushing Kagome and getting out her rope dart. She twirled it around her before throwing the rope around the claws, tighting the rope as tight as she could. _

_However, the demon easily pulled back his hand and Akiha was sent flying towards him. Then, the demon caught Akiha with his other hand, grasping her really hard, making her cry out in pain._

_"Yaaaaaaaaahhh!" cried out Inuyasha, arriving to the rescue. He easily sliced the hand that was holding Akiha captive before she fell to the ground. Inuyasha finished off the demon by slicing it from head to toe, splitting it in half. _

_After the battle was over, everyone sighed in relief before deciding to sit down to rest. Akiha noticed Inuyasha walking towards her. "Inu...yasha?"_

**_POW! _**_Inuyasha punched Akiha in the head like he always did to Shippo. "Idiot!"_

_"Inuyasha! How could you do that to a lady-no, a girl, no less?" shouted Miroku, surprised as Kagome treated his wounds._

_"Oh shut up!" shouted Inuyasha before turning back to Akiha. "Anyways, what were you thinking?! Thanks to your spells, everyone almost got killed! And what was that last move with the rope dart anyways?"_

_"I was only trying to protect Ka-"_

_"No excuses! You were lucky I was there to help you, or you would have been eaten!"_

_'Inuyasha, that's enough!" said Kagome._

_"Wait, Kagome! Inuyasha...has the right to yell at me," said Akiha softly. _

_"Yeah! Next time, aim for the demons, not us! And don't use your rope dart against an opponent way stronger than you!" yelled Inuyasha._

_"You're right, I'm sorry," apologized Akiha, feeling sad and regretful._

* * *

_End of flashback... _

_'I do appreciate it if Inuyasha would apologize to me from yesterday. But I guess it's fine. I think I did deserve it,' _thought Akiha sadly, feeling hurt from Inuyasha's words.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Akiha heard a scream from the woods and ran to where they were. When she arrived, she saw a few children being surrounded by some hungry-looking demons.

"Hahahaha! We're gonna eat you up!" laughed the demons, making the children scream out of terror even more.

"Oh, mighty overflowing river, wash away with the wave of blessing! Great River Splash!" chanted Akiha as quickly as she could. With the help of the water spirit, she gathered up water from a nearby river up towards her hands, ran towards the group of demons, and moved her hands forward, causing a wave to wash them away.

Akiha turned to the children and ordered, "Please, run while you can!"

The children didn't need to be told twice, as they were already running back to the village as fast as they could. After seeing the children leave, Akiha turned back to the demons. They weren't simply defeated by being splashed by water, but they were knocked down by the impact.

After getting up, one of the demons scowled, "Y-you! How dare you do that! You'll pay for that, girl!"

As Akiha prepared to fight off the small group of demons, an arrow shot past her and hit one of the demons, making him scream in pain before disintigrating. Akiha turned around, expecting to see Kagome, but was surprised to see another woman.

This woman had long black hair and a red and white robe while she carried a bow and arrow. She looked a lot like Kagome, but she looked much older and looked more experienced with the bow than Kagome.

"Don't lose focus! I'll guard your back!" called the woman before receiving another arrow from her pouch before firing it at another demon.

"R-right!" Akiha nodded her head before turning back to the demons. She clasped both her hands before chanting once again, "Oh, brightly shining light, shine your light down upon my enemies! Ray of Light!"

Like the sun shining down upon the demons, light rays also shined down on the demons and started firing at them. With the combination of the arrows the woman was firing, Akiha and the woman easily defeated the demons in one swoop.

Akiha walked up to the woman and bowed her head. "Thank you for helping me out, miss."

"No, I should be thanking you," replied the woman. "If you haven't arrived in time, those demons would have eaten those children. My name is Kikyo, what's yours?"

"My name is Akiha. Nice to meet you, Kikyo-san."

"Just call me Kikyo. What sort of power was that just now?"

"Oh, that's a power called Shikigami. I control the Elemental Shikigami type, but I'm still not good at it though," replied Akiha.

_'Hmm...Shikigami, huh,' _thought Kikyo, a bit suspicious. "Well, I can tell you that I'm a priestess and a traveler. May I ask a favor of you, Akiha?"

"What is it?"

"Well, I'm detecting a demonic aura a bit far from here, and there might be a dangerous demon up ahead. I was wondering if you might accompany me for a short time?"

"Of course, Kikyo," agreed Akiha. "But, I feel like something's bad is going to happen. I don't know. There's something tight and serious in my chest that I can't describe."

Kikyo looked surprised. "You can sense demonic auras?"

"Oh? I can? I guess that's what the hard feeling was. Well, I was told I can sensed the Shikon Jewel shards too," replied Akiha, looking down at her hands in amazement.

_'This young girl can not only use Shikigami, but sense the shards and demonic auras too? Not only that, but she has tremendous spiritual power as well,' _thought Kikyo, astonished.

Then, Kikyo's expression got serious and she said, "Follow me. I'll lead the way since I'm the older one."

"Okay, Kikyo," agreed Akiha. While they were walking out of the woods, down the plains, and past some tall cliffs,Akiha realized for the first time, how beautiful Kikyo really was.

It wasn't every day you see a beautiful wo-actually, in Akiha's case, whenever she and her companions rested in an inn, she always saw Miroku flirting with many beautiful women. But Kikyo was the most beautiful woman Akiha ever saw. Her long, soft night colored hair flowed with the wind in waves, her clothes didn't even get a speck of dust or dirt on them, and she walked so elegantly and graceful, like a princess.

Kikyo noticed Akiha staring at her and asked, "Is something wrong?" Even her voice chimed like a bell.

"Oh no!" said Akiha, shaking her head. "I was just admiring how beautiful you are! You really are beautiful, Kikyo!"

"Why, thank you." With that, the two of them talked very little while on their small adventure to slay the demon somewhere.

* * *

_Later, with Inuyasha and the others... _

The sky was still blue, but in about an hour or so, the sky would soon become orange and red, which would be almost nighttime. Inuyasha and the others gathered around in the room they were staying in the inn, which Miroku got for free by 'exorcising' a demon in the inn.

"Hey, where's Akiha?" asked Kagome, now realizing that Akiha was the only one not with them.

"Yeah, I haven't seen her all day," agreed Shippo.

"She'll probably be back soon. It's not even nighttime yet," yawned Inuyasha, laying on the ground.

"Maybe she's lost," suggested Miroku.

"W-what do you mean?" asked Shippo, worried.

"Well, think of it this way. Yesterday, after Inuyasha yelled at her, he hasn't apologized to her since. And today, he was harsh about her cooking, so it would only be natural for her to get up, run away, and cry like any little girl should."

Everyone turned to Inuyasha. "What?"

"Inuyasha! How could you chase a poor girl away!" cried Shippo, jumping onto Inuyasha's face and trying to punch him, only the punches didn't have any effect on Inuyasha.

"Oh, get off me!" shouted Inuyasha, prying off Shippo and throwing him to the ground.

"Inuyasha, sit!"

"GWAH!"

With Inuyasha facedown on the ground, Kagome began to speak. "Okay, if Akiha doesn't come to the inn in one hour, then we'll go search for her. And Inuyasha, you have to apologize to her for yesterday, and from today's lunch, got it?"

'Alright! Alright! Just one question, though."

"What?"

"How long is an 'hour?'"

* * *

_Meanwhile, with Kikyo and Akiha... _

"Here we are," spoke Kikyo as she and Akiha stood in front of a huge, dark cave. "I sense the demonic aura inside."

"I sensed something bad in there too," said Akiha, nodding her head. "Hold on, Kikyo!" She picked up a stick, and held a hand over it. "Oh, flame burning bright, turn into a sword of wrath!"

In a flash, Akiha fired a small fireball that caused the top end of the stick to catch on fire, making a torch. "With this, we can see in the dark. If there's any demons in there, I'll trust that you can take care of them, right Kikyo?"

"Yes," Kikyo agreed to the plan. As the two girls walked inside of the dark, spooky cave, the fire illuminated the small area around them, making it clear to see what's in front or behind them.

Then, Kikyo put a hand on Akiha's shoulder, making her stop and look forward. In front of them, was a a huge hole in the wall, revealing light to the room and making it clear to see the room completely. Not only that, but there seems to be a big round of red eyes staring back at them.

Then, the eyes approached them, and they appeared to be the eyes of some sort of mole demon. He looked awfully mad since they did intrude his home. The mole demon then curled up into a large ball and rolled towards them as fast as he could.

With quick thinking, Akiha threw away the torch, and thrusted her hand forward towards the approaching mole demon. "Oh, flame, burning bright, release your power! Fire Burst!"

A bullet-like stream of fire was shot from the palm of her hand and straight towards the mole, slowing it down a bit. "Look out!" cried Kikyo, tacking Akiha out of the way in time for the mole demon to roll past them.

When the mole demon crashed into a wall, he turned around, uncurled, and stood up, his claws ready to strike.

"Thank you, Kikyo," thanked Akiha, standing up and pointing to the mole demon. "I'll take it from here! Oh, distorting dark force, tear this enemy apart with your reign! Dark Force!" Suddenly, black, small bullet-like blasts shot out from Akiha's finger towards the mole demon.

Judging from the magical power given out, the magic bullet directly hitting the mole must be an impact close to a pistol. But even the small blasts didn't even scratch the mole demon's body. The magic wasn't doing a single thing to him.

"Just what kind of body does he have?" gasped Akiha, still firing. The mole demon ignores the spells shooting at him an charges forward with his own two feet.

"Let me handle this," said Kikyo. She fired an arrow at the mole demon's heart, which then glowed. The mole demon roared in pain before bursting into tiny little pieces and falling to the ground, dead.

_'That arrow was similar to Kagome's!' _thought Akiha, surprised. Then, the cave disappeared into thin air, leaving not a single trace behind. When they were outside, they were in the middle of a grassy field, completely alone. Plus, it was nighttime already.

"When you defeat a demon like that mole demon, the cave disappears," explained Kikyo.

"Oh, I didn't know," said Akiha, looking around.

"Thank you for your cooperation. And, also-"

**ZOOM! **Akiha felt something sharp fly past her cheek and hit a tree behind her. She gently touched her cheek to discover blood coming from a cut she just received and looked at Kikyo. Kikyo was a bit far away from her, her bow aiming at her. If it weren't for this situation, people would say she looked beautiful under the moonlight.

"Kikyo...?" wondered Akiha, shocked that Kikyo shot at her. No, it had to have been a trick. Maybe there was an invisible demon behidn her? No, even if there was, Akiha could have sensed it then.

"Your cooperation wasn't the only reason why I asked you to come," spoke Kikyo calmly. "It was also to kill you."

"What?! But, why? I just met you today," said Akiha, scared.

"...Prepare yourself."

Her attack is simple. Getting out another arrow, she quickly placed it in front of her bow and fired it at Akiha. Out of instinct, Akiha grabbed the dagger of her rope dart and deflected the arrow, but was pushed back by the spiritual power of the arrow.

_'So she can use Sacred Arros like Kagome!' _Akiha wondered in amazement. However, she had no time to be impressed by simple things. Right now, she was desperately fighting for her life as of now.

Kikyo fired another Sacred Arrow at Akiha directly, forcing Akiha to block once again with all of her strength. Akiha's body staggers, and she desperately stops herself from collapsing backwards. Had she really do that? Did Akiha just block those arrows out of instinct and fear of dying?

"..." As if her previous attacks never happened, Kikyo stopped moving. Is she really surprised that Akiha blocked two Sacred Arrows? Her cold eyes confirmed that her enemy is still alive. There is a tension, as Kikyo waits for her to spring her next attack.

Akiha felt her chest tighten and forgets to even breath. With those eyes upon her, she couldn't move. In just a moment, Kikyo would fire an arrow at her chest. At this rate, Akiha would break under the tension and then Kikyo would strike. All Akiha could do is defend herself.

Then, Kikyo spoke, "I'm surprised. I never expected you to be this good. It's a pity. You's so sensitive."

**SWOOSH! **Instead of blocking, Akihs dives to the ground on time to avoid an arrow. Her fingertips are numb, and she can't hold her rope dart correctly. She gets up as quickly as she could, but the moment she does, Kikyo ir right in front of her, pointing her arrow right at her heart. In desperation, Akiha tried to match her by pointing her dagger at Kikyo's chest.

Akiha breathes heavily, while Kikyo still keeps calm and collected. If Akiha tries anything funny, she knows that she'll die instantly. Akiha is in a situation where she's a second away from being killed.

"...It's over," said Kikyo. "Even if you stab me, I won't die. I will continue living. I'll kill you before you get the chance."

Akiha didn't even bother questioning Kikyo what she meant. Besides, there was no sense in lying in a situation like this. In other words, the situation where both hold each other's lives in each other hands is meaningless.

"If you don't believe me, please use your knife. In any case, you can't save yourself unless you kill me. Shall we test it out?"

Silence fills the area, and Akiha is too scared to say anything. Cold sweat runs down her body, butterflies fill her stomach, her heart's beating even faster, and Kikyo was pointing an arrow at her heart.

What Kikyo's message to Akiha was, 'I'm not like others, I can really kill you.' When Akiha looks down, there's no mistake of the pointed arrow at her heart. Like Kikyo said, she has to kill because she doesn't want to die. Akiha understands that even if she doesn't want to kill, she has to.

So, there's only one answer. Kill. Drive her dagger into Kikyo's chest and kill her. Kill if you want to live.

"...Goodbye. If you won't do it, then I will," said Kikyo emotionlessly, tensing her arms. Akiha didn't want that, so she has to stab her dagger faster than Kikyo's arrow-!

Her fingertips are filled with strength, but her arms don't move at all. Why didn't she move? Oh, it was simple, because she can't. Never again. To prove it, Akiha drops her rope dart into the ground, not resisting.

"Why aren't you resisting?" asked Kikyo. "Like this, you'll die. But why? Why aren't you moving your knife?"

"That's because...I can't," croaked Akiha. "I can't."

"If you don't do it, then I'll kill you. So why?" Kikyo was serious. In a second, the girl named Akiha Kururugi will be killed.

"I-I cant...kill someone," spoke Akiha, tears flowing down her cheeks. The tears don't ever stop.

...How much time has passed? By then, all of Akiha's tears have stopped, and her mind had been in a trance, until Kikyo's warm words come in.

"Phew. You understand at last, Akiha."

"Huh? Kikyo...?"

"Those words were true words," spoke Kikyo kindly. "Gentle, sensitive, and thoughtful people would cry like this." Saying that, Kikyo put her weapons away. Her tone of death disappears, and gentle self takes place.

"Huh? Didn't you want to kill me?" asked Akiha, wiping away the trail of tears on her cheeks.

"I wanted to test you, to see if you were a good person. So, I had to persuade you on a physical level."

"So, it was an act?!" gasped Akiha, forgetting her fears.

"No, I was serious. Therefore, I couldn't hold back. Since you had tremendous spiritual power, I had to test you to see if you were a bad person, or a demon in disguise that can hide his presence. After all, appearances can be deceiving."

With that said, Akiha collapsed on the ground, exhausted. "For some reason, I feel relieved. I'm...glad I didn't have to kill anyone," admitted Akiha, still panting for breath.

"Me too." Smiling, Kikyo offers her hand, and Akiha takes it before standing up. "Can you get home on your own?"

"Um...sure," said Akiha. "Where are you going?"

"I'm a traveler, and it's obvious that I'm leaving now. Take care, Akiha," called Kikyo kindly before turning her back and leaving. Akiha nodded, picked up her rope dart, and left the area.

It took a few hours to get back to the village on her own, but when she arrived at the entrance, she didn't expect to see Inuyasha there, waiting for her.

"Inuyasha...?" wondered Akiha, surprised.

Inuyasha looked up and saw Akiha there. "I-I have something to say to you! And it's important too!"

"Okay, what is it?"

"W-well, I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-s-Okay, fine! I'm sorry for yelling at you and insult your lunch today! Happy? Okay, let's go!"

What Inuyasha didn't expect was Akiha crying silently. Inuyasha started freaking out and asked, "Hey, what's wrong? I apologize, so you should be saying, 'You're welcome! Or something like that!"

"*sniff* I-I'm sorry..." sobbed Akiha, wiping away tears with her hands. "It's just...*sniff*...I..." _'Actually, I'm crying because I'm still alive, luckily,' _thought Akiha to herself.

Inuyasha sniffed her, and his eyes widen a bit. "Your scent...it's mixed with Kikyo..."

"Kikyo? You know her?"

"Hey, kid! Tell me where Kikyo went!"

"Huh? Well, she already left in the cliffs a bit far away."

Without saying anything else, Inuyasha ran past Akiha as fast as he could, leaving Akiha there confused and crying. Akiha decided not to run after him, and instead go back to the inn they were staying.

Once arriving there, she met up with Kagome and the others. "Akiha! There you are!" cried Kagome. She saw tears pouring down Akiha's cheeks and got worried. "Akiha! What's wrong?"

"Did Inuyasha make you cry?" asked Shippo, angrily.

"No, not him. This is a different matter," said Akiha, wiping away her tears. "Inuyasha apologized to me, and then left while looking for someone named Kikyo."

"Wait, Kikyo?!" gasped Sango.

"Hold on, please explain from the beginning," said Miroku gently. After Akiha explained the events that happened, Miroku asked, "So, why were you with Kikyo?"

"Because she helped me and I wanted to help her," answered Akiha. "So, what is with Inuyasha? Was he and Kikyo friends?"

"They were actually once lovers," explained Miroku. "They were involved before Kagome came along. 50 years ago to be exact."

"50 years? But, that would make even Kikyo-"

"An old woman, yes," continued Sango. "But 50 years ago, a man named Onigumo, who was too injured to even move, was cared for by Kikyo. Due to that, Onigumo desired Kikyo, so he allowed demons to consume him in order to gain their powers and transform into the person we know, Naraku."

"And then?"

"Then, Narakua discovered Kikyo loved Inuyasha and grew angry. He then injured Kikyo severely while disguised as , Kikyo turned against the real Inuyasha, and sealed him in a tree for 50 years before she died. All of this was part of Naraku's scheem."

"After that, Kikyo came back to life," explained Miroku. "Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation. And it was the power of Kagome's soul that allowed her to be revived, but at the same time, she was the walking dead, meaning she can't really die from physical attacks. Their fates are still intertwined from that event. Even so, Inuyasha still has feelings for Kikyo."

"Yeah, it's a messy love triangle," said Shippo. "I don't know the whole story, but even though he has a great girl like Kagome, he manages to be a big idiot."

"I'm going to bed," announced Kagome before standing up and leaving.

Akiha asked one more question. "Does...Inuyasha love Kagome?"

"Well, Inuyasha loves both of them, but his feelings are mixed up," said Miroku.

"Oh, I see..."

* * *

_The next morning... _

Everyone was waiting very patiently for Inuyasha to return. Ever since they woke up, Inuyasha still wasn't in the room they were sleeping in. "Is Inuyasha going to come back?" asked Akiha.

"He should arrive soon," assured Miroku.

Then, Inuyasha appeared in front of them in a flash, looking disappointed. "So, did you find her?" asked Kagome sadly.

"Find who?"

"You know who I'm talking about."

"No." Everyone looked at each other. Either Inuyasha was lying, or he really didn't find Kikyo.

"You know, you don't have to lie," said Kagome.

'Why would I lie? I'm telling the-"

"Sit boy."

"GWAH!"

Everyone else sweatdropped. Poor Kagome. Having the boy she loves go out to meet with another woman, a dead one at that.

"What'd you do that for?!" yelled Inuyasha, standing up from the dirt.

"Well, excuse me!" snapped Kagome angrily. "Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! SIT BOY!"

Needless to say, Inuyasha wasn't having a good morning.

* * *

**Hope: Whew! I'm done here! Alright, let's go! **

Thunder Shikigami: Wolf

Thunder Rampage: Rain thunder bolts down to enemies from the sky.

"Oh, furious howling thunder, bring thou rage down upon my enemies!"

Wood Shikigami: Snake

Green Wood Sea: Multiple fists of wood appeared from the ground and attacked enemies from below.

"Oh, elevated green wood, sway these foes from my path!"

Water Shikigami: Fish

Great River Splash: Creates a wave to wash away foes.

"Oh, mighty overflowing river, wash away with the wave of blessing!"

Light Shikigami: Lion

Ray of light: Rays of light fire at the enemy from the sunlight or anything light.

"Oh, brightly shining light, shine your light down upon my enemies!"

Dark Shikigami: Cat

Dark Force: A simple darkness spell that fires small bullet-like blasts multiple times.

"Oh, distorting dark force, tear this enemy apart with your reign!"


	9. New Moon

**Hope: Yes! Time for another chapter to write!**

**Miroku: You're all ethusiastic all of a sudden.**

**Hope: I know, right? This is going to be one of my favorite chapters! Anyways, do the disclaimer!**

**Miroku: Mage of Hope doesn't own Inuyasha, only the OCs. **

* * *

During their journey, Akiha interacted with everyone just fine, and got to know them a lot better, except there was one person who was rough on her. He had long silvery hair, dog ears, and wielded Tessaiga. If you guessed Inuyasha, you guessed right.

Inuyasha was treating Akiha harshly, not too badly, but like Shippo, only Akiha didn't do anything wrong to receive punches to her head. Akiha thinks he did that because she kept messing up. At least the others tried to defend her, but Akiha kindly refused their help and assured them it was alright. Besides, all that training Inuyasha was giving her helped improve her Shikigami powers and her ability to use a rope dart helped out a lot.

One day, everyone else was out training in separate areas, but Akiha and Inuyasha were the only ones grouped together, and they were working hard to train. They've been at it for who knows how long, and they haven't taken a break. Well, at least, Inuyasha didn't allow Akiha to have one. The others didn't know if it was a good idea to leave the two of them alone, but decided to see what happens before they left.

"Wind Scar!" Inuyasha yelled, bringing down his Tessaiga, creating a energy wave that has half his power. He knew that the kid had improved on her defensive spells, and she could probably defend against his half-powered Wind Scar at her level. If he sensed danger, he would immediantly come to her rescue right away.

"Oh, brightly shining light, protect the pure with your innocence! Light Fortress!" Akiha thrusted her palms in front of her, and a large, disk-like, white circular shield appeared and started deflecting the energy wave. Akiha was placing as much magic power as she could to defend against one of Inuyasha's most powerful techniques until all of its energy was wasted.

Finally, when the dust cleared, the cracked shield vanished, and there stood a tired looking Akiha with rope burns and bruises on her hand. Akiha panted heavily. They've been at it for a long time, and she never mention this to anyone, but her head felt like it was about to split in two, and she knew she had a high fever. Not wanting to be a bother, she decided not to tell.

"What, is that all you got?" taunted Inuyasha. "Stop wasting time and fight back!"

"Y-yes!" Akiha shouted in a hoarse voice. She reached down from the ground to get her rope dart. Then, she swung it in a circular motion like a cowboy about to catch something with a rope, before throwing the dagger straight at Inuyasha. Inuyasha dodged easily and ran towards Akiha, ready to strike. Before the dagger hit the ground, Akiha yanked on the rope, causing the dagger to return to its owner and for Inuyasha to jump out of the way.

Akiha clasped her hands around the handle of the dagger, chanting, "Reveal your hidden forces, Shikigami! Unleash your power!" A spirit covered in blue flames shot out from Akiha's body and surrounded the dagger Akiha was holding, boosting its power before it disappeared.

"Guess I'll have to end this before she gets a chance to strike!" mumbled Inuyasha, charging towards Akiha once again.

In a swift motion, Akiha aimed her dagger at Inuyasha, but Inuyasha dodged out of the way, letting the dagger hit a tree and for a small tightrope to be made. Then, Akiha kneeled down, and ran to where Inuyasha was, confusing him. Akiha then turned and ran, making Inuyasha trip on the rope and fall to the ground.

Akiha then turned back to Inuyasha, yanked her rope out of the tree, and pressed her palms wide open. "Oh, trembling solid earth, trap this enemy within my grasp! Earth Penalty!" Shen then closed her palms and formed them into fists, creating a small dome around Inuyasha, trapping him inside.

In just a second, Inuyasha destroyed the dome with his Tessaiga in a flash, and looked around to see where Akiha was. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something silver and moved his head, nimbly dodging a dagger heading straight towards him.

Knowing it was Akiha who fired that, he charged towards once again, careful not to make the same mistake twice. In order to increase her speed, Akiha quickly chanted, "Oh, overflowing blue sky, dash through the heavens! Blue Sky Rush!"

A green bird spirit flew out of Akiha, then flew back to her body, making her body light. Akiha swiflty yanked the rope with the dagger at the end, swung it at a circular motion above her head, then threw it, which wrapped around Inuyasha's Tessaiga.

"Oh, flame burning bright! Turn into a sword of wrath! Raging Flame!" shouted Akiha, pointing at Inuyasha. A small fireball fired from the tip of her finger and towards Inuyasha very fast. Inuyasha blocked the fireball with the blunt side of his sword before yanking the ropes off his sword.

Akiha was exhausted by casting so many Shikigami spells during their spar and looked on the verge to pass out anytime, even now. Her cheeks were red and she was sweating like mad.

"Hey! What are you doing?" asked Inuyasha, impatiently. He could tell how tired Akiha was, but he knew he could still continue. Too bad he didn't know she had a fever.

"Right, I'm sorry," apologized Akiha. Then, she noticed for the first time today, that the sky was turning orange, and there was a sunset at the distance.

Inuyasha noticed as well and clicked his tongue. "Tsk." He then sheathed his Tessaiga back to its sheath. "Alright, looks like we're done for today. Let's go find Kagome and the others."

"Okay," agreed Akiha weakly, getting her backpack. Akiha tried her best to keep up, but with her fever, she kept stumbling and tripping over every little thing. She wanted to ask Inuyasha if she could ride on his back, but she knew that he'd probably refuse. Her backpack was like extra weight, despite it having very few things.

"Hurry up!" shouted Inuyasha, leaping from tree to tree.

"C-coming!" called back Akiha. As she ran as fast as she could, she tripped on a tree root and fell on the hard ground. When she pulled herself together, her hands were caked with dirt and blood, and her legs were getting stiff, but she still ran a little.

Inuyasha watched the kid try to keep up with him, but she kept tripping and getting exhausted. Inuyasha groaned, irritated. Why couldn't she just hurry up? Oh yeah, she's a human. But still, he couldn't have injured her that much, could he?

Once he realized that the sun was going down in just a few minutes, he jumped down in front of Akiha and asked, "Hey, do you have some sort of blanket or something?"

"Y-yes," said Akiha, putting down her backpack and searching through her things. She pulled out a soft red blanket. "Here."

"Thanks," muttered Inuyasha, swiping the blanket before placing it on his head and continuing to leap tree to tree. Akiha didn't even bother asking why he needed it, and instead kept running as fast as she could.

* * *

_Later, with Kagome and the others... _

"Whew! I think that's enough training for now," sighed Sango, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Miroku and Shippo were besides Kagome, helping her cook dinner.

"It sure is a nice night out here!" said Shippo, smelling the cool breeze at night.

"Indeed," agreed Miroku.

"By the way, where's Inuyasha and Akiha?" asked Kagome, searching through a cookbook.

"Don't you remember? They went training together," reminded Sango.

"Oh! That's right! Still, do you think it's a good idea for them to be alone? I mean, we all know how Inuyasha trains Akiha really hard."

"Maybe he'll go easy on her?" questioned Shippo.

"I doubt that," said Sango. "He better be ready for some more 'sits.'"

Kagome gasped. "Oh no! I just remembered! Today's the first day of the month!"

"What?!" shouted Miroku, standing up. He glanced up, and saw that the moon was black. "Oh no, we all know what that means!"

"Inuyasha's going to become full demon tonight!"

* * *

_Back with Akiha and Inuyasha..._

After a while, Akiha stopped and placed her bloody hands on her knees, panting heavily. Her lungs were on fire, her feet felt like they walked for miles without rest, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were dirty and had some dust in them.

"What are you waiting for?! Hurry it up!" shouted Inuyasha, annoyed.

Suddenly, a large weasel demon popped out from the ground and was staring down at the tired Akiha hungrily. It lifted up its claws to strike at Akiha, who was too tired and paralyzed with fear to move.

"Shit! Akiha!" Inuyasha pushed Akiha away and received the hit by getting slashed in the chest.

"I-Inuyasha!" cried out Akiha, shocked. She caught him as he fell to the ground, winching in pain on how heavy he was. Then, she noticed that Inuyasha had raven colored hair, no dog ears, and his fangs were gone too.

"Hahaha! Two humans in one day! How exciting!" squealed the weasel demon with joy. Akiha's blood turned to ice, and her mouth felt dry. Inuyasha was down, and it was all thanks to her! No, he was still breathing, but she needed to go to a safe spot where she could heal him!

"Oh, overflowing blue sky, obscure thee vision from thy path! Blue Sky Smokescreen!" shouted Akiha, thrusting one arm at the weasel demon while the other was wrapped around Inuyasha's back to support him.

The green bird spirit flew right between Akiha and the weasel demon before exploding into a large smokescreen that made it difficult for the weasel demon to see. Taking this chance, Akiha ran as fast as she could and endured the pain of carrying Inuyasha. Soon, she discovered a small, but well hidden cave before entering.

When she got inside, she laid Inuyasha down carefully on the ground, and made her backpack as soft as it could get for a pillow for Inuyasha. She then glanced at his large wound and gasped. The skin around the wound was starting to turn green and purplish, meaning poison. Tha demon's claws must have been filled with poison!

"Urk...gah..." groaned Inuyasha in pain.

Gathering up her strength, Akiha placed her palms in front of Inuyasha's wound, making him cringe in pain. "Oh, overflowing blue sky, expel the unclean! Blue Sky Antidote!"

In just a second, Inuyasha's body glowed green, and the weird color on Inuyasha's chest disappeared completely. Inuyasha's eyes fluttered until he got a clear vision and saw Akiha.

"Aki...ha...?" whispered Inuyasha, coughing out blood. Akiha was surprised. Normally, he would call her 'kid' or 'girlie' but never her actual name!

"Hold on, Inuyasha! I'll store up as much energy as I can so that I can perform another healing spell on you!" promised Akiha.

"Tch...since you seen me in this form, I have no choice," scoffed Inuyasha.

"Form? Inuyasha, I don't know why, but you look like a human now."

"That's because I am human," sighed Inuyasha. "For...half-demons like me, there's a short period of time where we lose our powers and become humans. Tonight, on the new moon, is always the day I turn back into a human. But that's only until the sun rises."

"Oh, I see," said Akiha.

"But...damnit! Why didn't you keep up with me?! That way, we could have gotten to Kagome and the others a lot faster!"

"Huh? You're saying it's my fault?" asked Akiha, shocked that he could think like that.

"Yeah! That way we wouldn't be in this mess!" Then, Inuyasha coughed up more blood due to his wound.

"It's...it's not my fault! In fact, nobody is to blame for this," said Akiha, standing up for herself. Kagome told her to stand up for herself if anything was bothering her, otherwise she'd never face her fears. "Besides, I was too tired! Why did you save me anyways? If anything, you should have taken care of that demon!"

"Shut up! You don't know a damn thing about me! Don't go thinking you know about me, stupid!" yelled back Inuyasha. "You're just a stupid,pathetic, weak little girl who can't even defend herself! Don't even try to talk back to me when even now, you can't defend yourself! You don't know anything!"

Just the impact of Inuyasha's words struck Akiha and shocked her. She felt tears roll down her cheeks and she wiped them away, but more tears appeared now. Inuyasha looked panicked at the sight of Akiha crying, completely forgetting Kagome wasn't here. Before Inuyasha could say anything, Akiha stood up, walked towards the wall, sat down, and brought her knees up to her chest before continuing to cry.

Even if Inuyasha couldn't fully hear, he could still hear the muffled cries from was crying because of the things he said. She knew that he was telling the truth. She didn't know his past, or his feelings, and she regretted saying those words, even if they meant to encourage her. Soon, she fell asleep, forgetting about Inuyasha's wound, which wasn't bleeding that much.

Several hours later, Akiha woke up due to sensing a demonic aura. Glancing back at Inuyasha, who was still in human form and sleeping, she walked up to the cave's entrance. Once outside, which the sun was up, she saw the weasel demon waiting, and she froze up.

"Hehehehe! I finally found you! Die!" The weasel demon charged towards Akiha, his claws above his head. Akiha nimbly dodged out of the way, and threw her rope dart at the weasel demon. The weasel demon jumped out of the way, seeing the rope dart hit a tree afterwards.

"You're dead!" cried the weasel demon, running towards Akiha again. Since Akiha is too injured to fight, she just yanked on the rope, causing the demon to trip and fall facedown.

Akiha jumped up, and decided to end it all by using all her spiritual power onto the most powerful fire spell she knows. She ignites both her hands together while the demon was done, and lifts them above her head as if she was preparing to throw something.

"Oh, flame burning bright, consume this foe with your flames! Brilliant Flame!" A large fireball the size of a boulder formed at the top of her palms, making the weasel demon's eyes widen. He had no idea a little girl can produce so much spiritual power! Immediantly, Akiha threw the fireball down at the weasel.

**BOOM! **The area apparently exploded, causing smoke everywhere. The few trees near the area were on fire, Akiha's weapon of choice was destroyed to the blast, and Akiha was the only one standing, panting heavily.

"At least...we'll be safe for now..." panted Akiha happily. However, her happiness came to an end when she saw the weasel demon standing in front of her, injured and scortched, but still fine.

"YOU! IF I'M GOING TO HELL, I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!" screamed the weasel demon, lashing out at Akiha. Akiha fell to the ground on her back, completely dodging the claws. However, she couldn't move anymore, or even twitch, making her vulnerable.

Akiha's body hurted, even now. It was all due to the training Inuyasha gave her. She wasn't blaming Inuyasha, but she was far too injured and she had a fever to move an inch. Not only that, but she began to feel dizzy, and before she knew it, she was losing consciousness. The weasel demon licked his lips hungrily, ready to eat the human girl that had seemed to have fainted when suddenly-

"Iron Reaper Soul Stealer!" **SLASH! **The weasel demon was sliced in half and killed instantly. Akiha turned her head and saw a man with silver hair...golden eyes...and...dog ears. That was her last sight before she lost consciousness.

Inuyasha kneeled down at the young girl. He may act tough on the outside, but he's extremely worried on the inside. He said things he shouldn't have, now he regretted them. He placed a hand on Akiha's forehead, and pulled it back. It was hot!

Inuyasha didn't realize that she had a fever, and realized yesterday how weak Akiha was during their training. He gritted his teeth in anger. How could he not notice it? But, there was no time to worry about such things right now! Akiha was sick and could be on the verge of death!

He took off his red top before wrapping it around Akiha's fragile body, keeping her warm. He then lifted her up in her arms like a baby before taking off to find Kagome and the others so that they could provide medicine for Akiha. Meanwhle, with Kagome's group, they were all riding on Kirara's back, flying in the sky while searching for Inuyasha and Akiha.

Sango then spotted something. "Look over there!"

Kirara landed on the ground, surprising Inuyasha. When everyone else saw Akiha in Inuyasha's arms, Miroku asked, "What happened?"

"She has a fever, and injuries," explained Inuyasha.

"Oh no! I have some medicine with me! We'll talk later! Put her down, Inuyasha!" ordered Kagome, getting out her First-Aid kit.

* * *

_A few days later... _

"Ugh..." groaned Akiha, waking up. When she fully woken up, she was lying against Kirara, and covered in a large blanket.

"Hey, you okay?" asked a familiar voice. Akiha looked up, and saw Inuyasha staring at her.

"Inu...yasha...?" Akiha quietly asked. "Where's...everyone else?"

"Miroku and Shippo went to get more firewood, and Kagome and Sango are out to get food," explained Inuyasha. He then handed her a mug full of weird water. "Here, drink this. It's some special medicine I made."

Akiha gently took it, and started drinking it. She made a weird face as she drank it because it tasted weird and awful, but in order not to hurt Inuyasha's feelings, she drank it all, and felt better.

"Thank you. I feel much better," thanked Akiha before lying down again. "Inuyasha, I'm sorry for all those things I said back at the cave. I really am."

"No, it's my fault," sighed Inuyasha. "I said some things I shouldn't have. I should apologize."

"Um...are you apologizing because Kagome threatned you to?" asked Akiha.

Inuyasha gulped at the word, 'threatned.' "Well...that's part of the reason. But I seriously wanted to apologize to you, so I'm sorry. Oh, and I'm sorry for all that harsh training. Kagome told me not to be all that strict anymore."

"Okay, at least you were honest enough," said Akiha, forgiving Inuyasha. "Um...I'm going to sleep a bit more, can you wake me up later?"

"Sure," agreed Inuyasha. When Akiha finally seemed to have fallen asleep, Inuyasha just ruffled her hair, then did something unexpected. He kissed her gently on the forehead, like a brother kissing his little sister goodnight.

When he turned around, he saw that the others had come back, shocked and surprised that Inuyasha had done that. "Kya!~ I knew you cared about Akiha!~" squealed Kagome. "I wish I had a camera!~"

"W-what are you guys doing here?!" exclaimed Inuyasha, standing up.

"We just came back!" said Shippo.

"My, my! I never thought Inuyasha would show this sweet side of his!" teased Miroku.

"W-what?! No! You saw nothing!" protested Inuyasha.

"Don't worry!~ We won't tell Akiha or anyone else!~" sang Kagome happily.

"I told you it's nothing like that!"

* * *

_The next day... _

Akiha fully recovered the next day and all her injuries were restored thanks to Kagome and the others. Before they began to leave, Kagome spoke up, "Oh! I forgot to mention, Akiha! You need to punish Inuyasha!"

"What?! Why?!" shouted Inuyasha.

"For treating her harshly during training and other battles, that's why!"

"Um...Kagome, it's fine," assured Akiha. "Just a simple apology will do-"

"Nope! You're too nice, Akiha! That's why you need to give Inuyasha a physical punishment! What'll it be?"

Everyone else besides Inuyasha, Akiha, and Kagome were sitting down, enjoying the show while sipping tea. They wondered what kind of events would happen next. Would Kagome say the word? Or would Akiha unleash something she's never done before? Either way, it'll be entertaining.

"Okay...how about this?" wondered Akiha, finally giving into Kagome's idea of punishing Inuyasha. Kagome kneeled down in front of her, and Akiha whispered something into her ear. Whatever she told Kagome, Kagome had a michevious grin on her face.

A few seconds later, Akiha had a dog treat in one hand, and a stick in the other. "Fetch, Inuyasha!" called Akiha, throwing the stick as far away as she could.

Instantly, Inuyasha _literally _trotted towards the stick without thinking, picked it up by his teeth, then trotted back to Akiha before dropping the stick into the ground."Good, boy!" said Akiha happily petting Inuyasha on the head before feeding him the dog treat.

When Inuyasha realized what had happened, he spitted the dog treat out and shouted, "I'm not a dog!"

Everyone else laughed as they moved along, with Inuyasha running after them, yelling that he wasn't a dog.

* * *

**Hope: Okay, everyone! I won't be doing Inuyasha for a little while because I want to complete a story, so you'll...have to wait a couple months please! Until then, goodbye for now! **

Light Shikigami: Lion

Light Fortress: A very stronger shield that blocks only what's in front of the user.

"Oh, birghtly shining light, protect the pure with your innocence!"

Earth Shikigami: Mole

Earth Penalty: Allows the user to trap anyone in a ground-like dome depending on the size.

"Oh, trembling solid earth, trap this enemy within my grasp!"

Wind Shikigami: Bird

Blue Sky Smokescreen: Creates a cloud of smoke for a little while.

"Oh, overflowing blue sky, obscure thee vision frm thy path!"

Fire Shikigami: Dragon

Brilliant Flame: A much more improved and powerful fireball than a small one.

"Oh, flame burning bright, consume this foe with your flames!"


End file.
